I was standing in line at Subway a few weeks ago, starving and patiently waiting my turn to order.
The woman working behind the Subway counter was not American and spoke slightly broken English. Nevertheless she was very polite.
Just as I was about to tell the woman my order, the man in front of me began to knock on the glass that separated the customers from the workers and asked sarcastically, “Ummm hello! I said can I get that toasted?”
I was immediately repulsed at this grown man’s flippant attitude and undeniably rude behavior.
I could easily deduce from speaking to this woman that she struggles with English and must face challenges presented by this language barrier on a daily basis.
In addition, she must also learn to cope with cultural differences she has encountered while being away from her native country.
All I could think at the moment was, who did this man think he was?
How dare he speak to this woman like that?
He seemed to be inadvertently implying that she was beneath him, and I found this to be disgusting.
He had no right to be speaking in the manner that he was.
I do not know if this man heard me, but under my breath I muttered, “Ummm wow. Can we be nice?”
After leaving class in Innovation Hall on Tuesday, I happened to be glancing down at my phone and walking at the same time.
I really should have been paying more attention, but I wasn’t.
As a result of my carelessness, I almost had a head-on collision with another student.
I freely admit that it is obnoxious when students do this, but it happens to most of us at one point or another.
After nearly running into my fellow student, I immediately apologized.
This student responded to my apology by rolling her eyes, tilting her head back as if she were disgusted and then glaring at me as if I was a creature from Mars.
Her response was rude and entirely unnecessary.
At times, people (including myself) get upset and annoyed over extremely petty occurrences.
Frankly, it takes much more energy to be rude than it does to simply say that it’s no big deal, and go on with your business.
Individuals are often told to stand up for themselves and that it’s a dog-eat-dog world.
While it is true that no one should let anyone else walk all over them, the mentality stemming from this dog-eat-dog principle is not meant to be applied to petty, everyday situations.
When it comes to simple, unpredictable accidents such as accidentally bumping into someone in the hallway or forgetting to put a customer’s sub in the toaster, lashing out in anger with snide comments or non-verbal gestures seems ludicrous.
People are happier when they are nice to others and when those around them are kind in return.
This may seem like common sense, but at times people’s actions (again, myself included) can indicate otherwise.
Being rude is unnecessary and people need to learn to chill.
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