Posted by Helen on: 11.12.2008 /
I love these statistics, from the CNN article Are you rude?
The article caught my attention because the rudeness discussed in it is what Doable Evangelism’s Ordinary Attempts help people move away from.
One form of rudeness mentioned is taking out anger on people who didn’t cause the problem. I try not to do that but sometimes I get carried away when I’m frustrated.
Comment by: Jason Horton
1 11/12/08 12:54 PM | Comment Link |80% of Americans think rudeness is a national problem? Come to England, it’s a way of life. Better yet, there’s always France, I think the French have perfected the snide aside. We English just do sarcasm well, as if I need to tell you that. Pft!
;)
I need the winking smily to show that I’m not really being rude but interestingly it occassionaly means that you really are and just want to mitigate it slightly.
I like your example of rudeness but there really are so many to choose from.
Comment by: Rude. Much! « The Magnificent Frog
2 11/12/08 1:05 PM | Comment Link |[...] November 2008 at 9:00 pm (Reasons to be cheerful) Helen talked about rudeness in her blog. Apparently 80% of Bloody Colonial Yanks think that rudeness [...]
Comment by: Jason Horton
3 11/13/08 8:23 AM | Comment Link |I can’t believe that you’ve only had my comments on this. How rude!
Comment by: Helen
4 11/13/08 10:58 AM | Comment Link |Yes, and it was rude of me not to respond :) - sorry about that. I got distracted and forgot to come back to this.
The sort of ‘rudeness’ you’re talking about is definitely cultural. You need to be careful to stay within what’s acceptable in that culture.
Other sorts like ignoring people or treating them with disrespect are considered rude in all cultures I would think.
Comment by: Bob
5 11/13/08 4:07 PM | Comment Link |I do think manners are a dying art. Some people see politeness as a shallow gesture but to me it’s on of the things that makes life more pleasant in general. Just taking a minute to consider someone else in a small way is huge. We’re too busy and too self involved as a culture. It frustrates me to see people growing up with no concept of courtesy and consideration. I think manners are a casualty of the modern lifestyle and I don’t hold out a lot of hope for this to change.
Comment by: Randy
6 11/19/08 8:48 AM | Comment Link |Bob,
I agree. But I do hold out hope that this can change, if only within the scope of the tribe that belongs to Jesus. And if that could happen (and again, I think it can) then there is a slight hope that this tribe can influence the larger world community. Such influences have occurred historically before and have resulted in things like abolition of slavery (once the Jesus tribe began to repent of it themselves!)
Of course, rudeness has to cease to be a value in the culture. But this will only happen when the culture sees a greater value in kindness and courtesy. This is where the Jesus tribe can be of some help, I would think.
Comment by: Bob
7 11/21/08 12:16 PM | Comment Link |Hi Randy — Thank you for a more hopeful perspective. I didn’t mean to be overly negative. Maybe I’m getting old and feisty. I too will hold out hope, I appreciate your kind and generous spirit. If we were all just a tiny bit more like Christ imagine the impact.