Thursday, May 24, 2012

Where has CIVILITY gone?



Something happened today while I was at the mall with my mom friends that has me asking the question... Where has civility gone? Gen, Damaris, and I had finished our morning mall boot camp workout. We decided to grab a coffee at Starbucks, before heading down to the play area with the little ones. Gen and I were standing in line gabbing while Damaris was keeping an eye on the kids when she asked me "What drink are you getting?". I told her my usual Grande skinny caramel macchiato, and she tells me she thinks she is going to get a Tall, decaf, soy, vanilla latte because she's nursing, and she can't have caffeine, or dairy. At this point some guy in line beside us who I will refer to as "A-Hole" says to Gen... "Didn't you just workout?"  She tells him yes, and he proceeds to preach to her why she should not be loading herself up with all of those calories after she just worked out. He tells her what she "needs" to be ordering is a plain coffee, adding her own sugar substitute to it, and that she should to be skipping the sugar all together. Saying that he should know because he "used to weigh over 200 lbs, does acupressure, and has a nutrition background". We were shocked! So shocked at his not-so-helpful insult that we didn't say any of the things we should have like, "Why is this any of your business?", "She is free to order whatever drink she pleases", or "Shut up. You are being rude!".  This had me angry at myself for a good 30 minutes afterward. I kept wondering why I had not said any of those things to this obnoxious man. I then realized it's because I was raised with the "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" rule. Why do people feel the need to open their mouth, and say what comes to mind with everything these days? The Hubs and I have had this debate before. He believes that people in the south are much less direct about things in person, but still thinks or talks about it behind closed doors. While he believes people out here are just more honest. I personally think that it comes down to needing a little good ol' southern "couth".  If it's going to be rude, or hurt someone's feelings... Keep it to yourself! You don't need to embarrass someone at your every urge to get a point across. I think that it's a sign of maturity to be able to hold your tongue from engaging people you disagree with, or don't like. It's called civility, and "A-Hole" could use a serious dose of it.

1 comment:

  1. It's a good thing my Italian, crabby-ass self wasn't there. I am having a week of mood swings and I would have loved to unloaded on a d-bag like that!

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