Is common courtesy Dead

[Christine]

Maybe I am just getting older but, to this gal it seems people are becoming ruder and so self centered they can't be polite, exhibit common courtesies or show respect for their elders. I have seen people so rude in lines and checkouts to elderly people you can't believe anyone would be that cruel. If an elderly person is in front of me in a busy line or check out and is having trouble keeping up with the pace I will turn towards them and say" take your time I am in no hurray"  Many times you will get a smile that warms your heart or a look of gratitude which can't be described. Life is to fragile and can be taken away at a moments notice its not worth the negative emotions. Maybe it's just me.

[Ayden]

I think it depends on where you are. I try hard to be polite and respectful, and in Kentucky and Alaska (two places I've lived and identify as being my homes) people try to be respectful. Also, here in Osaka, I've seen young gangster boys holding open doors for older people, helping them carry things, and looking completely scandalized and embarrassed when they get scolded for sagging their pants. I even watch one young mafia guy who lives in the area help out all the local elderly, since I live in an area that is about 70% elderly folks.

[twit]

I still see a lot of it where I live, most everyone is respectful to their elders and at the store where I work, there is rarely ever an issue with someone so impatient they can't wait on someone who might be a tad slow due to age or some sort of condition. And if they acted like an ass to another customer, I wouldn't be too shy to tell them. I also thank people for being patient if the line got long on them or someone ahead of them took forever to pay for their stuff.

[tekla]

Common courtesy was never all that common, or it tended to accumulate at some places and not others.  Some of the elder stuff (not in Japan, it's almost a religion there, whole different deal) comes from the segregation of the ages in the US, and its' less common to have older people around in a lot of areas.  I don't see a lot of rude behavior outside of the ghetto where I work (and no one gets any respect there), most people seem polite and practice courtesy.

And it's not just old people - and nowhere near all of them - that are having more and more problems keeping pace.  Things have speeded up, not just a little, but a lot, and plenty of people are not really planning to the best outcome.  So while I never rush them, I will try to find another line.

[Christine]

  Things have speeded up, not just a little, but a lot, and plenty of people are not really planning to the best outcome.  So while I never rush them, I will try to find another line.

And that's a good solution if you are in a hurray. I have seen this problem with what I call harassment of older people allot and it really bugs me. Maybe it's just the way I was brought up.  Personally it make me feel good to help an older person or anybody for that matter.

[gennee]

Most people are considerate, I find.

[Jayne]

In answer to the topic question, common courtesty isn't dead, it's just a bit under the weather round these parts

[Kaelin]

I think it's doing fine in my neck of the woods.  People may not be "going out of their way" so much, but if there's a situation where someone can do something that has a noticeably greater payoff for the recipient, someone tends to do it.

[Arch]

Perhaps the definition of courtesy is changing somewhat, but it's by no means universal.

I'm impatient with older people, but never VISIBLY impatient. I am polite and respectful. If I am in a hurry, I go around them as expediently as possible, or I choose another line to stand in.

But then, I'm much more impatient about a lot of things than I used to be.

And phones...it's hard to tell. When I hang out with older friends, they don't tend to answer phones while we are together. Many of my younger friends--and my students--think nothing of just answering a phone or text in the middle of a conversation with me--and actually stopping to talk or text. But not all of them. Many of my students are completely appalled that their phones even ring while the students are talking to me. They know they should have the ringer turned off. And since we didn't have cell phones back when I was little, I really couldn't say whether people were more polite about them back then!

[mixie]

I think the internet is part of the problem.  Young people feel they have the right to comment on every single thing under the sun regardless if they are educated about it.  Some people seem to desire to turn everything into a debate.