12th
Unnecessary Rudeness
So, tonight I went to see Frost/Nixon at the cheap-o movie theater. We were running absurdly late due to having other things going on today, including the need of sustinence. The movie started at 7:00. We got there at 7:01. When we arrived, walking into the theater ahead of us was a man with a baby, a girl who was probably about 8 or 9, and a woman. We’re in a hurry. Walking in front of us, the woman does one of those door pushes that says: “I’m gonna open the door for myself, and push it far enough so that you might be able to get in too.” I did. I proceeded to stand in line behind this family, and as soon as i stop, the woman says “You’re welcome.” To which I reply, “Oh, thanks.” Not even imagining it was something that required a thanks, much less a rude you’re welcome.
So, they buy their tickets and move on. We buy ours and are walking briskly to get into the theater. They are stopped in the middle of the hallway that leads back to the theaters. I’m thinking, what the heck? I, still walking quickly, walk around them, with probably about a foot between myself and them. I notice as i go past, the lady step to one side as if avoiding me (who was no where close to touching her), and I hear her say under her breath “expletive-deleted-hole.” Now, I tend to think I’m a pretty nice, calm, and likable guy. That word is not one which I would think anyone would use a personal descriptor of me. Perhaps the woman had a bad day, perhaps she perceived me as rude, I don’t know what her deal was, but I know this; I was in a hurry to get to my movie, I was not about to crash into her or her family, and her family should not have been creating a bottleneck in the theater.
Where has common courtesy gone? Do people really feel justified to curse at people when they’re the slightest bit annoyed by them? Is terseness really neccesary in normal, everyday happenings? Can anyone answer these questions?
