by Kimberly A. Smith

Created on: September 06, 2008   Last Updated: January 30, 2009

In modern society, rudeness seems to be as prevalent as Starbucks. Wherever you turn is someone who never seemed to learn basic manners or who is acting as though they are the most important person in the room. Rudeness is a symptom of a greater problem, caused by people who do not respect their fellow men and women. If everyone respected themselves and others, most of society's problems would cease to exist, including rudeness.

There are many common places which breed rudeness. The one element that they all share is that they are situations which can lead to high stress levels. Often, when people get frustrated they take out their negative feelings on the nearest person. We've all been tempted to throw a fit in some of these places.

Freeways

What is it about traffic that causes an otherwise respectful person to become selfish and rude? People cram onto freeways, trying to get to and from work, and regularly become involved in incidents of road rage. Screaming, swearing, and flipping off other drivers is a regular event. It's amazing how much hatred can brew for people that you have never met and most likely will never see again.

Trapped inside individual bubbles, each person forgets that everyone else has somewhere important to be as well. The person in the car next to you has a job to get to, or children to pick up, or dinner to cook for their family. It can be too easy to think that your destination is more important, especially if you are running late.

The Internet

Online communities are a bastion of rudeness. "Flame wars" are one term for online fights and insult battles that can begin with a simple disagreement. The problem with the internet is anonymity. They do not have to look someone in the eyes when they fling an insult. The words on the page are not always associated with people.

If you find yourself online and having a bad day, think before you post to your favorite message board. Remember that every screen name represents a real person who did not cause your bad day. If someone is trying to provoke you, take a step back from the situation. They might have had an argument with their significant other or trouble at work.

Customer Service

If you work a customer service job, you have probably complained about how rude customers have been. If you are on the other side of the counter, you may have wondered why it is so hard to get polite service. Wherever this rift began, in many businesses it has grown to be a real problem.

Customers often will take out their

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