Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Out-rude

Yesterday seemed to be a day with fewer manners. People kept ignoring others and being uncourteous. It was notable because most days in Portland seem to be more mannerly than not. I like that about Portland because courtesy seemed to be lacking in St. Paul and Minneapolis. I don't think people are ruder in MN than they are in OR but I think the "cattle chute" mentality in MN tends to make people less courteous and considerate on the road and in the stores.

I grew up in the South where courtesy is driven into your head as a child. Be polite, thank people, say yes-sir and yes-ma'am to people. I got laughed at by a teenage boy and girl when I said "yes, ma'am" to the girl. They thought I was treating them as if they were old people but age doesn't matter in the South. I always laugh and said "he was raised in the South if he doesn't still live there!" when I hear a 90-year-old man say "yes, ma'am" on the news to a 30-something news reporter.

Back to yesterday. People were walking in front of you, not holding doors open for the next person, talking on cell phones and walking all over the sidewalk with little regard for the rest of us, smokers were smoking in the bus shelter (right in front of the "do not smoke" sign), etc.

We were delayed for a man on a scooter which is expected and lost a few available seats to accommodate him but that is expected too. He has as much right on the bus as we all do--just mentioning the delay. The bus was already late and the line was longer because of that. The next rider was a woman with a stroller. Strollers have to be broken down for safety and consideration for the other passengers. She had such a huge stroller--it didn't seem to break down well. I might have had more sympathy for her if she looked a little guilty about it but she seemed to think we all had to work around it and deal with it. We spent 5-10 minutes at the bus stop with her and the bus driver trying to deal with this stroller. And the bus got more crowded since she and the stroller took up more seating in the front. Again, not faulting moms here--just her attitude. The next bus stop the riders had to squeeze by her stroller to board the bus. She seemed oblivious to her endangering the riders and creating a problem and more delays for people getting on the bus. I think we all got a little cranky over the situation--maybe it was a long week and we just wanted to get home safely and close to on-time.

I ended up with someone having to sit beside me given the lack of seats. I accepted that until he pulled out the cell phone. The first call was short so I thought "he's not going to talk on it the whole way". WRONG. He made call after call the whole ride and was still talking on the cell phone when he got off the bus.

I had opened my window when we got on the bus--it was a little warm. Normally I would be considerate of the person beside me and close the window more for the the ride. Most people aren't as hot-natured as me so they don't appreciate the open window. It wasn't that warm--the bank said 59 so most windows were closed. After he kept talking on the phone and annoying me I decided I would leave the window open. Toward the end of the ride he had to put his scarf on--I think he was a little chilly. I felt a twinge of guilt but decided if he could be rude with his phone, I could be rude with my window.

It wasn't a proud moment for me--just a desire to fight back a little. My lack of tolerance is one of my greatest faults, for sure. Just felt I needed to out-rude someone before the day was out.

I will strive to be more considerate and courteous to make up for my rudeness yesterday. Hopefully I can get my good karma back today.