Just Because...: Is Courtesy Becoming Extinct...

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Is Courtesy Becoming Extinct...

Growing up, I was always taught manners, etiquette & courtesy. Yes, even which fork goes with which (hell - my mom was big on that crap). Anyways, I digress. I've noticed that since my apartment complex has changed owners, the tenants moving in have taken a downturn.

We have a couple neighbors who are really sweet (and, of course, that nasty guy who took his kids out in the hurricane to show them the almighty power of Allah who hates the Americans and demanded that his wife not acknowledge or speak to anyone in his presence, is gone). The nasty neighbor upstairs who would sweep her bird crap onto everyone else's balconies is also gone. So basically, our building is normally pretty good. No super loud music. No rude door slamming. No moving furniture at 3:00 in the morning (most of the time).

First, I had a neighbor keep his door open as I'm in the car ready to get out - what is he doing but "reorganizing his front seat". Hello - mcfly - you see me try to open my door twice, and you refuse to be polite? Oh wait - I'm a woman. That's right - 5 paces behind. Man first. He won't last long when Roomie gets home. He sure as hell could yell at his wife though. She wasn't moving the baby fast enough for his liking and, I guess, chivalry is dead because he wouldn't open her door.

Also, as I came home from work, I went to get the mail and also getting their mail was a mother and daughter from another building. The daughter was about 16/17 or so and just so rude to her mother. When I went to the mail box, the daughter refused to move (she was blocking our mailbox) nor was she polite when I said "Excuse me". I had to say it twice and the wench decided to suck her teeth in at me. What does the mother do - nothing. The mother has a bag of groceries and is balancing her mail. Does the daughter help - no. Then an orange falls out of the mothers bag. The daughter kicks it. The daughter, mother and I watch it and it rolls, UNDER my car behind the front wheel. Do either of them retrieve it? No.

I give them 5 minutes as I sort my mail and they are still standing there and guess what - yes, the orange is still behind the wheel. I looked at both of them, put the mail on the car and bent down and grabbed the orange. It is covered in dirt and I said "Excuse me, but since this fell down behind the car wheel - I think it's safe to say it's for the trash". What does the daughter do - hand on the hip, head swivel and attitude sets in with a "What did you say?" like she's about to start some little hood rat crap.

What I wanted to say was "You heard me. You chose not to pick it up. You chose to be rude to your mother. You need to learn some manners before someone smacks the taste out of your mouth." Instead I responded, "This is trash and you should have picked it up for your mother!". The mother apologizes for her daughter's behavior however it wasn't her place to apologize for the little hellion. The daughter decides that a stare down is in order. I won on that mess. I'm tellin' ya - that girl was lucky she was a kid. That girl is also lucky that she didn't have my mother - my mother would have slapped her at the first inkling of disrespect.

I'm just curious as to when it became the norm to treat people, especially parents, with such disrespect? Is courtesy becoming extinct?

Posted by Lys :: 11:25 PM :: 0 comments

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Just Because...

Wednesday, May 24, 2006