Rudeness as Teasing: Socially Acceptable or Not?

Last week I was in the grocery store to make a few purchases. While I was waiting for my order to be checked out, the cashier called over a fellow employee, someone who looked like a superior. The superior, I suppose, was trying to be cute when she said to the cashier, "I don't want to", which caused me to look at her in a rather bad light. I was pressed for time, otherwise, I would have requested to see the manager and report the complaint about the attitude of the second employee, which was not only witnessed by me, but also by the person standing behind me in line at the cash register. Not that that would have had any real effect upon the employee in question and the attitude problem, as for all I know, the manager could very well have had the same problem. The incident got me thinking something rather important: Since when has our society become so accepting of rude behavior by people in the service industry? I certainly could not imagine myself acting any other way but gracious, cheerful, and helpful to a customer, and I have worked in the service and retail sector for many years. Had I ever pulled something like that, you can be sure my manager would give me a talking to.

Bad attitudes in the workplace can have a negative effect upon other employees who may think such behavior is worth emulating, but really isn't. Just because one person might try to be rude and think it cute, and get away with it, does not mean the same will happen to anyone else. Perhaps even worse is the belief that one is rude as such, is due to the age old excuse of "That is just the way he/she is." Since rudeness is more the result of a behavior, or what is also known as an attitude adjustment, it is something that can be changed through modification. Acting rude in front of customers is not going to get one any respect, and if directed to a customer, though it is rare, can be perceived as bullying. Rudeness not unlike after that seen in reality television shows, constantly being around people instead of spending time actually achieving something, or sheer boredom. Boredom? Believe it or not, some people will actually be "playfully rude" to another just to get a rise out of someone in order to see some action. Of course, this sort of thing is more commonly seen on street corners in urban areas, but surprisingly, happens in the most unexpected places, such as at the grocery store (Publix) I was at recently.

Most of the rudeness in the name of teasing comes as the result of lack of thinking before speaking. It is obvious these people are not mindful of what comes out of their mouths at all. As the Gospel of Matthew records, "It is not that which goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but that which comes out of a mouth is what defiles a man" (15:11). Regardless of one's religious affiliation, belief, or lack of belief, this is actually good advice for anyone to live by. Maybe it is time for American society to purge the rude extrovert, and take some time to nurture the introvert, spending time thinking about why it is important to think before speaking. Doing so would certainly save a lot of wasted energy. Rudeness is just as bad as gossip in the form of teasing, but that is for another article.