>"'In the last 15 to 20 years, people have increasingly moved indoors into
>their own private space,' Dr. Satler said. 'They stay home, rent movies,
>have food delivered. They're so used to doing anything they want that
>when they go out in public, they no longer know how to behave, They just
>make themselves at home wherever they are, regardless of the effect on
>those around the them.'"
:p I was just talking with my M(not)IL this morning. She's trying to get
used to a cell phone. I asked if she's seen people using headsets, walking
around grocery stores and parking lots talking to themselves yet. I don't
know how many times I've thought someone was talking to themselves, only to
see they had a headset on. I said, "It's some new twist on the cocooning
trend or something."
That said, I just don't encounter rude people -- not face-to-face at any rate. Is it the South? I know one thing, though. I think it's the politeness that accounts for people's inability to figure out what to do at a four-way stop. @@ Rather than simply following 4way stop rules, people are polite, waving the other person ahead, even if they don't have the right of way. The other one is doing the same. Back and forth, back and forth, 'til everyone's grinning or chuckling to themselves and someone just finally decided to go ahead and go. It's like a rilly, rilly bad Aboott & Costello routine.
"NO. you." "No, sir. YOu go ahead." "No, after you." "No, no. I couldn't. Please, go." "Absolutely not, I insist. You go." "No, please. You must go first."
Then they both smash into each other as they simultaneously decide to go! LOL
(Someone once told me that, in Mexico City, they preferred to follow norms of politeness at stops instead of the rules, which backed up traffic even worse -- back when cars were relatively new to Mexico City. Anyone ever heard that before. [btw, I will hunt down that book Gar.])
Drivers are another story, though. I get a kick out of the ones that try to gain 25 seconds by speeding from traffic light to traffic light along the Highway-of-Death. "That's right asshole. Aren't you proud of yourself. YOu beat everyone else to.... the next red light! Wooo. Saved yourself time by weaving in and out of traffic, didn'tchya?"
Yet, for the most part, in this hellish Highway-of-Death traffic, the majority of people are polite. If you're trying to get onto the highway from a side road during rush hour, I'd say 99% of drivers let people take turns merging into the traffic. Same thing with making sure side roads aren't blocked off. Or heck, even stopping sooner than you need to to help get traffic stopped so U-turn lane traffic can enter.
And then there are all the happy little waves back and forth, you see a driver's neck arch as he peeks in the rearview and gives a backward wave of thanks for letting them change lanes, along with the mouthed "thank yous."
Heck, I can't even remember the last time someone tried to plow in front of me in a grocery line. And yell at a cashier? Pshaaaaw. In the south, you just say, "Why bless yo' heart...." :p
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