STATION EDITORIAL
Posted October 30, 2021
This is a station editorial, I'm Randal J. Miller, station president.
An October 15th on-line article from Time magazine is headlined "Why Everyone is So Rude Right Now." Quoting some portions of the article, it says that September was a bad month for manners. On the 21st, a woman pulled a gun on servers at a Philadelphia fast food restaurant when they asked her to order online. On the 16th, several women from Texas pummeled a hostess at a New York City family-style restaurant. A California woman was charged with felony assault for attacking a SouthWest airlines flight attendant and dislodging some of her teeth.
The Time article continues that it’s the people-have-lost-their-everloving-minds incidents that make the news, but they are also a reflection of a deeper trend; Americans appear to have forgotten their niceties, especially with those whose job it is to assist them. Lawyers are reporting ruder clients. Restaurants are reporting ruder clients. Flight attendants, for whom rude clients are no novelty, are reporting mayhem.
The Time article continues that some people may have thought that, having been prevented from mingling with other humans for a period, folks would greet the return of social activity with hugs, revelry and fellowship. But in many ways, say psychologists, the long separation has made social interactions more fraught.
The October 15th Time article says this is an atmosphere which can ruffle even normally very calm people, or in which very slight infractions can set off those with less of a handle on their emotions, and that people feel almost entitled to be rude to people who are not in a position of power.
The Time article goes on to say if the rash of bad behavior is not just short-term impatience with the unique situation and actually a symbol of something much deeper, then unwinding it will be more difficult. Psychologists suggest that people slow down, breathe out more slowly and lower their voices when encountering difficult social situations or irate people so as not to make any situation worse. “All of anger management,” says the Time article, “involves pausing.”
That's our opinion, we welcome yours. Our e-mail address is editorial@randyradio.com.
