by Anease Lacaze

Created on: December 05, 2008

Rude people are everywhere. It takes no more than a quick stroll through the mall or even the parking lot to encounter insurmountable rudeness. What does being rude or hurried solve? I see no harm in waiting a few extra minutes to let an elder go ahead of me at the checkout line in the grocery store. Nor do I see why common courtesy has to fly the coop just because you spilled your coffee on your pants or you missed your bus. While I sympathize with anyone's bad day, I cannot for the life of me understand why one person's misfortune is everyone else's problem.

The incident that sticks out most in my mind involves an innocent trip to the craft store. I needed some supplies to make a purse. I was quite excited about the project, and my excitement peaked after I found the perfect fabric. I gathered up all of my necessities and headed for the cutting counter. The sweetest older ladies work at my local craft store. They always seem pleased to see a young person making anything on their own rather than running to the mall to buy the prefab version. As I approached the counter, there was only a single woman in line. Her order was short, and it took all of about 2 minutes for her to acquire what she needed. Just as the woman behind the counter finished cutting her fabric, a middle-aged woman walked straight to the front of the line. It was as if she did not even notice another person standing in the same room, much less right next to her. When it came time to serve the next customer, the hasty woman assumed she was next in line. As she made her way to the counter, the nice lady behind the counter said, "Ma'am, I believe she was next." The woman turned and looked at me as if I was the one who had cut in front of her, and replied with, "No, I've been standing here for awhile." I was enraged, but I tried not to take her actions too personally as I did not know why she was in such a hurry. Her teenage daughter even whispered under her breath, "Mom, she was next." It was clear she was embarrassed, and I smiled at her as a way of saying thanks for having more couth and respect than her mother. I responded to the rude woman by saying, "No no, you go ahead. Clearly, you are in a hurry." She thanked me. What? Were you not here for the last few seconds? You cut in front of me. You embarrassed your daughter by behaving rudely, and you thank me for letting you go ahead. Maybe an apology is in order? I let her go ahead of me to get her out of my world, if only a few moments sooner.

Dwelling on rude people is useless. Rudeness is everywhere, and it cannot be avoided no matter how hard you try. I surround myself with positive people and yet, I encounter hateful and rude people on a daily basis. There is a difference between me (the other not-so-rude folks too) and the rude- when I go home at night, I am happy with myself and my life. Chances are when the rude folk go home, they are still rude- to their families and loved ones. Rudeness is just unacceptable, especially when it is unprovoked. Being rude to a stranger whom you may never see again is just wrong. What do you really have to gain? I bet getting home a few minutes earlier just made that rude woman's evening- nah, probably not.

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