People Seem to Exhibit Rude Behavior More Frequently in Our Society

When I was a child, I was taught to be respectful of other people. Apparently, this isn't the case with everyone we come across. It seems human nature is not naturally kind and respectful. Otherwise why would we need to be taught manners?

Recently my husband and I were at a busy restaurant waiting for a table. We had already been at the restaurant waiting for thirty minutes. As people arrived they were given a number. We were probably no more than third or fourth from being called.

My young granddaughter and I were standing in a different area from my husband. I heard him call my name, and I looked toward him. He said, "Come on let's go". I was very puzzled. When I got close to the car I asked him what was wrong, and he told me to get in the car and he would tell me in a minute. He went into the restaurant.

He came back from the restaurant and we drove away. I wanted to know what was wrong. He told me that a group of people, who had come to the restaurant after us, had sat down at a table at the restaurant's patio ahead of everyone who was waiting. At first it didn't bother him, but then they began to laugh about the fact that they had cut in front of everyone who was waiting.

It wasn't bad enough that they had been rude, but they thought it a great joke. These individuals weren't kids. They were adults. They knew better. My husband had complained to the manager. The restaurant staff knew that these people had cut in front of all the other customers, and yet they let them stay at their table. It seems that many people won't confront someone's rude behavior. If we have adults who behave like this, it's no wonder our children have no manners.

This isn't the only incident that I have witnessed recently. A few months ago I was on an airline flight. Nowadays with the airlines charging for checked baggage many people are bringing on more carryon luggage. I was sitting toward the back of the plane and had gotten on right after first class boarded. I put my carryon bag in the overhead.

Toward the end of the boarding process, I woman got on and was acting rather pissy (I don't know how else to describe her). She had a carryon bag and couldn't find a place near her seat to put her bag. There was a small spot next to my bag, so she tried to jam it in bitching as she was doing it. I got up and was going to try to help her. She started complaining that my bag was oversize and she smelled of alcohol. I decided it was best to sit down and let the flight attendant handle this situation.

She halfway pulled my bag out and tried to jam her bag in. She got frustrated and sat down leaving her bag hanging out about halfway and mine pulled out part way. After she sat down, I got up and put my bag back not touching hers.

The flight attendant came down the aisle and told the woman, " You know this isn't the way to put your bag in. You're going to have to find another spot ." The woman got huffy and grabbed her bag and moved it to another spot further up in the plane. In the process she managed to get the flight attendant upset. To make a long story short, they took the woman off the plane.

I've seen this happen several times this year. Airlines will not tolerate abusive behavior. If you are visibly drunk, they will take you off the plane. At least they don't reward rude behavior. I wonder what goes through a person's head when they are acting like this. It seems that instances like this are occurring more frequently. Something has changed in our society, and it's not for the better.