Being Rude: A Global Epidemic

This weekend, my husband and I spend a weekend in Atlantic City to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary.  I had never been there (being new to the area) and we thought it would be quick, fun escape from everyday normalcy.

We walked along the boardwalk, lost $200 in the casinos, ate at a couple of great restaraunts, ate a couple of dives, and generally enjoyed each others company.

This is how normal life works.  If all is well in your world, you swim along with the stream in happiness. . or at least in contentment.

And then. . . something happens to disturb the steream.

This was Sunday.

We were checking out of the hotel and there were a crush of people, as we were told there are EVERY Sunday with those leaving and those trying to check in for the week.  It was madness.  We were standing in line to get the luggage we had left at baggage claim when the most unbelievalbe drama unfolded.

Instead of giving the bellhop the claim ticket, moving to the other side of the counter to wait for the trolly of luggage to appear (as about 50 people had done before us quite smoothly), one lady decided it was not good enough.

She jumped the line, told the desk clerk that she did not intend to wait this long and headed directly into the baggage claim area. 

She was then promptly removed, told she would have to wait in line, apologized to for the long wait from the harried clerk, but the woman persisted.

Then, sensing someone might be getting an advantage, another woman joined her and demaned she be allowed to retrieve her own luggage. 

Then, there was chaos.

Instead of a smooth process, already established and resptected by the majority, one rude person. . .who insisted her priorities came above all others, brought the entire system to a screeching halt.

Eventually, there were others that joined her, but the majority were astounded that they could display such bad behavior when it was obvious the system was working, the staff was moving as fast as possible and to go to such astounding measures: after 20 minutes, claiming there was medication in the bag that had to be retrieved, after 12 minutes, threatening 2 people's jobs.

What gives a person the right to be so rude?

The Public Research Adgenda group did a study about 8 years ago that 79% of polled respondants felt American people are ruder to each other than they were 10 years ago.  42% said they encounter rude behavior every day.

To live a balanced life is to not just NOT be rude (by finding something akin to the Golden Rule to live by) but to also remove the consequences of rudeness.

Several people in the line with us became very angry with the few who were holding everything up by their selfish rudeness.  The anger, while arguably justified, also removes the balance in your world.  Several spoke about it among themselves loudly, hoping the woman would hear and it would bring her shame and maybe stop her from being such a disruption.  And, as I have already mentioned, some joined the fight.

It was a capuled example of how to handle the rude in your world.  Being able to actively be thankful you do not have the life they have that would cause them to act out in such a manner can be one way to stay in balance during those times when an in-kind rudeness would FEEL appropriate.

One of the BIG LESSONS I try to teach Dillon, my step-son, is you cannot control what others do, you can only control what YOU do.