a few months ago, i wrote a post complaining about lack of respect in today's society. i talked about policemen parking on double yellows to fetch their morning lattes. i mentioned cars recklessly speeding past ambulances that were trying to save lives.
there was a related essay in the independent on sunday about britain's addiction to rudeness. in it, the writer tells this story:
"in a world of contant novelty, social codes break down. our main response is to become more aggressive. the other day, a man was pushing a pram along a crowded pavement in my home town; he almost mowed a guy down. when challenged by the girl who was with him, he snapped: 'well, he should have seen me coming!' she said, 'he was blind.' it was true. the man pushing the pram was me. i had no consideration..."
it's true, bad behaviour is addictive. you see someone else get away with parking in a handicapped spot, you think "why should i walk so far then?" and park in the handicapped place next to it. you get shoved by someone in a queue who is in a hurry, and you push back yourself. if you are the woman we witnessed in our local supermarket recently, when a man at the next till over yells profanities at you, you don't take the higher ground, you scream back that he should f*** off.
i say it's time to stop the cycle. be nice. don't rush. smile. take the higher ground. breath and count to ten. maybe good behaviour is just as addictive and we can change the pattern one person at a time.
Ugh...at least the flip side can be true too. One of the things I love (love!) about SF is that people here seem to be addicted to niceness. It's just like the cycle you descibe, but in reverse. Someone smiles, the next person lets someone in line at the cafe, that person asks the barista how school's going, etc...
Coming from Seattle I still find it a bit strange (even a little overbearing sometimes), but I much prefer it to the alternative! Maybe it's time to plant some San Franciscans in other parts of the world to turn the cycle around...
Posted by: Sarah Sosiak | June 09, 2007 at 04:12 AM