Journal FortKnox's Journal: Politeness 40
You know what is truely sad? When I go out all day, return back, and my (18 month old) son is more polite than everyone else I've been with throughout the day.
We've taught him to say please (more like "PEAS"!), thank you ("cank ew"), and welcome ("gelcum")[1]. He almost says "excuse me" when he belches, but it sounds more like "beep beep" which I guess probably makes it more worse than better ;-)
Anywho, what ever happened to saying "Thanks" or "Thank you" or "You're welcome" or even "no problem"?
Does politeness die from age, or are we just in a 'no time to be polite' generation?
[1] Actually, there was quite a bit of confusion, here. He used to say 'thank you' by repeating what we said. But after a while we started saying "you're welcome" when he said thank you, so he thought he was supposed to say 'welcome' instead of thank you when you handed him something (got all that?) ;-). I think we finally got him squared away, but its wierd having to teach by mime instead of explanation...
We've taught him to say please (more like "PEAS"!), thank you ("cank ew"), and welcome ("gelcum")[1]. He almost says "excuse me" when he belches, but it sounds more like "beep beep" which I guess probably makes it more worse than better
Anywho, what ever happened to saying "Thanks" or "Thank you" or "You're welcome" or even "no problem"?
Does politeness die from age, or are we just in a 'no time to be polite' generation?
[1] Actually, there was quite a bit of confusion, here. He used to say 'thank you' by repeating what we said. But after a while we started saying "you're welcome" when he said thank you, so he thought he was supposed to say 'welcome' instead of thank you when you handed him something (got all that?)
It's like road rage (Score:2)
Re:It's like road rage (Score:2)
Not being rude, but being terse, is a pretty good way to get your point across.
Most people are rude, most people are assholes. Just because they are, doesn't mean you should join them. Like you said, it doesn't take much effort to improve things, and if 99% of the people i
The fall of politness (Score:2)
You say, "Thank you," the idiot recipeint one ups you, "No, thank _you_," you sopt sayinig Thank You.
You answer "I'm not interested," to a telemarketer, they call again, and again, you tell them if they call again you'll pull their fucking jaw off and slice their throat with their own teeth, _they_ stop calling.
Ask, don't tell. (Score:2)
I cannot stand the following:
"Yeah, give me....uhhh....."
"I'll have....."
I always want to respond with "You'll have nothing unless you ask nicely for it, dickhead." or "Give you? GIVE you? Blow me." Pardon my french.
Once upon a time I was over my parents house watching
Re:Ask, don't tell. (Score:1)
Ditto. My dad would drill it into our heads that we should be saying please and thank you always. When my ex started coming over for dinner, she would say "Pass the
Re:Ask, don't tell. (Score:2)
Most appropriate place to use "Thank you", by the way, is when the person in front of you walks through the door and lets it close without so much as looking back to see if it's about to whack you in the face. That always merits a "THANK YOU!" from me.
Re:Ask, don't tell. (Score:2)
My philosophy, also.
In fact, I try to be OVERLY polite, especially at work. I always use 'sir' and 'mame' everywhere (even at the cashier to my local garage, and even if she's a teenager). Cause sometimes I'm having a crappy day, and she'll smile back at me for thanking her, and it'll just turn the day around.
People like it when you are polite to them, and you gain just a bit more respect in people's eyes f
Re:Ask, don't tell. (Score:2)
That has to be the smartest thing I've heard all day... I walk to work every day, and some days I'll be feeling crap, and then one of the people I walk past most days walking their dog will smile, or say good morning, and I'm ready to get on with the day.
On a similar note, I'm a support tutor on an IT course being ru
Can I vs May I (Score:2)
"Can I" involves your physical ability to be the recipient of the action, whereas "May I" involves the willingness of the party on the giving end to initiate the action with you.
I remember getting that lesson in linguistics when I was little. Not sure when or why.
jason
Re:Can I vs May I (Score:2)
If you asked "Please can I speak to Mr. White", he'd reply "Of course you can speak to him", but would continue to stand there in the doorway until the proper question was asked. If you asked "Please may I speak to Mr. White", he'd ask Mr White to come to the door for you.
Personally, I believe that manners should be taught in the home. Unfortunately,
Re:Ask, don't tell. (Score:1)
Jeopardy is no place for politeness, not when you're down to the $600 questions anyway. It's all about speed and making sure you can get through all the questions. I hate it when people rattle off the whole category name "Roman I
politeness (Score:2)
Conversely, with my friends, I am usually the rudest and crassest bastard on earth. My friends and I often do the 'burn game' to the point of tears (tears of laughter for most, tears of pain and
Re:politeness (Score:2)
However, I know how some of the other people posting here feel because sometimes I get sick of everyone being rude; however, if everyone is thinking that it just becomes more and more of an excuse for more people to be rude and no one remembers politeness anymore. So, I've consciously decided to remain polite as I was taught by my parents, regardless of how rude other people are to me.
Re:politeness (Score:2)
On the other hand I'll not hold back with my friends, and it's never a problem, even with the target be
I am still polite. (Score:2)
Despite having others take advantage of
North of Mason Dixon Line, yer screwed (Score:2)
Re:North of Mason Dixon Line, yer screwed (Score:2)
Re:North of Mason Dixon Line, yer screwed (Score:1)
I'm not sure your suggestion about moving to North Korea is a good one, though -- yeah, I'm sure they're polite but if your kids screw up they'll send them, you and your parents to prison!
Or did you mean something else...? ;-)
Re:North of Mason Dixon Line, yer screwed (Score:2)
Another World of Courtesy (Score:2)
My mother used to say to me, "Elwood" --- she always called me Elwood --- "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh-so smart, or oh-so pleasant." For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant --- and you may quote me.
I'm polite. (Score:3, Interesting)
Why do I do all this? Because I wear a little wooden cross on my neck. I'm representing Jesus to these people, and Jesus would not be impolite, so what right do I have?
Re:I'm polite. (Score:2)
I do all those things aswell. Why? Because it makes me feel good. I've never understood why people need to do good in the name of their religion when they can simply do good.
Re:I'm polite. (Score:2)
Re:I'm polite. (Score:2)
Why do I do all this? Because I wear a little wooden cross on my neck.
I do much the same, though for different reasons. I do it because it is the right thing to do. First and foremost I am representing me. By making the world a nicer place for those around me, it reflects back on to me, making my journey through this world a much nicer one.
Being nice to waitresses and bar staff has many, many benefits. I get better, friendlier, prompter service. If my day h
i try (Score:1)
i think you hit the nail on the head. but i see it spreading across the generations. older people get tired of rude young people, so they sometimes cave in. many rude kids are being raised by rude parents. the most irritating thing to me is that they have no concept of politeness. they don't even think they are rude because they don't know what it means to be polite. they are so focused on what they are doing that they just don't stop to consider an
It's more than mere words (Score:2)
Politeness (Score:2)
In a restaurant, you can always tell a person with real class by the way they trea
Politeness out of consideration vs. selfishness (Score:2)
a) move on with your day
b) make a catty remark regarding their ungrateful ass.
If (b), you are being polite only for the response that you garner. The rudenss with which you respond makes you out to be much less of a pol
Re:Politeness out of consideration vs. selfishness (Score:2)
And for the record, I open doors for everyone -- male female, old, young -- whenever I have the chance. And in these parts, the favor is almost *always* returned. Being female, I'll never know if the person holding the door open for me is doing so out of chauvinism or politeness, but seeing as how it's challenging enough coralling a 3-year-old aro
Re:Politeness out of consideration vs. selfishness (Score:2)
Re:Politeness out of consideration vs. selfishness (Score:2)
Voting Official (Score:2)
It was 715am. The only thing I was there for was to vote NO to a sales tax increase, and this woman acted like she had the power of a SS storm trooper.
I had my wallet out, but I stopped in my tracks. I stared her down and said "Please?"
"What?" she retorted.
"Please may I see your voter's registration card and a picture ID. Your authority does not gi
My wife versus myself (Score:2)
It's a choice. (Score:1)
We live in this crazy insular society, full of fear of 'engagement'. It seems to me th
Hooray for the Magic Word!! (Score:2)
When making a request for something, she sometimes has to be reminded to "ask nicely," in which case she will reiterate her request in the form of "Momma, can I please have some [whatever], pleeeeease?" in a singsong voice. We make jokes about Eddie Haskell, but I can't *abide* children who *demand* things of their parents (and then their parents hand it over!!). Thank you and
Re:Hooray for the Magic Word!! (Score:2)
Joey will probably follow from my upbringing. People we (meaning me and the wife) know is Aunts and Uncles. My former roommates who stop by will be "Uncle Rob" and "Uncle Wolf". They aren't related, but being good friends get the extra respect. People they don't know are "Sir" or "Mame" until told otherwise.
Everybody (Score:1)
I'm of the mindset that "we're all in this together, let's make the best of it" and how better to accomplish this than doing the little things that people have seemingly forgotten about.
Although, I was a Boy Scout...and you know their addage
Being a New England gentleman... (Score:2)
...descended from Scottish nobility, I am renowned for my politeness.
Politeness and little kids (Score:2)
But he got over it. There is a certain F___ -you attitude you see in most large urban areas these days. I think it has to do with the unlikeliness that we'll ever see one another any time soon.
I think it's unusual to see a happy attitude among those who have to deal with the pub
My Thoughts (Score:2)
I think that politeness & courteousness are so important. They are the grease that gets us what we need & where we want to go.
A perfect example of this is when I go shopping. I finish the transaction with, "Thanks very much. I appreciate your service.", or something more relevant to the situation. I try to let my my emotions & body language reflect the type of interaction that we've had already: if we were happy, then I'll try to be happy; if we