|
In the book and movie Hannibal, FBI Agent Clarice Starling is interviewing the character of Barney who was one of the orderlies in charge of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter. When she asked him if he was ever afraid that the now escaped Lecter would ever come after him, he responded by saying “No, Dr. Lecter said he always preferred to eat the rude. Free range rude as he called them.”
On a certain level I know what he means. If there were ever a group of people that deserved such a fate, it would be the rude. Now don’t confuse rude with being blunt. Hannibal was being blunt, not rude, and I respect that. Blunt is just saying it as it is without all the sugar coating.
My tolerance for the rude is very low and, unfortunately, it seems as though they are everywhere and growing. I think these people don’t even realize how obnoxious their behavior is. To them, it’s just business as usual. It doesn’t seem to matter where you are, the store, the ball field, or behind the wheel. They seem to be wherever you want to be and then they make the easiest of tasks far more difficult than it needs to be.
Going to the grocery store should be a cakewalk; you go in, get your stuff, and leave, right? There are times when you experience that scenario. Unfortunately when it does happen you find yourself thinking “Wow, that sure was easy” and it should be the opposite. We have begun thinking that things are always supposed to be made more difficult by the rude, and then we feel grateful when it isn’t.
When in a store the rude are a bit more restrained due to the fact that they are completely visible to all around, as opposed to a car where they are fully enclosed. Add the tint to the windows of a car and they become invisible. The store is different. You get the full picture of the rude right in front of you and personal appearance and body language can be very telling. Most of the time you can spot a problem as it approaches or as you approach it and take evasive action.
You know what I mean. You can see them from a distance as you are picking which checkout line to choose. They are generally much further away than you are, but as they see you focus on your given line, they speed up, moving at a manic pace, trying to beat you there. If it’s not that scenario, then it’s the “I’m going to pretend I don’t see you standing in line because the line is at an angle” approach.
In case you haven’t experienced it, it’s where you are waiting in a line that is so long, that in order to keep the aisle open, you are forced to come in from the side of the line. While there, the rude try to pretend they don’t see you and the people behind you, and come in from the other side, at an angle. This can become a very volatile situation when you get a mega rude versus one who will not be bullied out of their position. If I had my say, any rude attempting this would end up in the frozen food section next to the pizzas, in about the same shape.
While in a car it is worse. The rude truly blossom behind the wheel. Even the wimpiest individuals think they can get away with anything when surrounded by 1200 pounds of metal and plastic. Turn indicators and stop signs be damned, they are going to drive their way and heaven help you if you get in their way. While occasionally mistakes are made, there is no way under the sun that you could convince me that all the erratic and belligerent behavior I see on the streets in this Valley are all mistakes. It is nothing more than discourteous rudeness.
Then there is the one place that a perspective “rude meal” should not be found in, is in a place that serves food. If ever there was a place that they could disappear without a trace is in a fast food restaurant or doughnut shop. Unfortunately there seems to be a growing number in these industries.
What is it with the people who work in doughnut shops that makes them in such a hurry all the time? It is almost as if they are doing you a favor by selling you the doughnuts. They get that little cock of the head and an inpatient stance the second you pause in your selection process. I’m sorry, do you have some place to go or did you leave a fresh batch in the deep fryer? If you do and don’t lose that attitude or you’ll be joining them shortly.
Then there is the fast food rudeness that we all run into occasionally, but timing is everything. We here in my little hometown have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the new Togo’s Sandwich Shop. It opened within the last couple of weeks, joined by Baskin-Robbins. My wife saw her first opportunity to go Wednesday night and boy was her timing off. Without going into the details, as my daughter and her friend Nena will stand witness to, they were served by perhaps the rudest individual they have ever encountered. Not only did this person’s attitude catch them off guard and make them feel like it was their fault that they were being treated badly, it also made them not want to return, ever.
But there is hope. After hearing this little horror story I called Togo’s and spoke to the manager, Julie Chen, who was absolutely horrified at what had occurred. She assured me that this was an isolated incident and that she would talk to all of her employees to make sure that this never happens again. I certainly hope so, because not only do I want these new businesses to survive, but also to flourish. You can’t do that if your employees are working against you.
So where do they come from, these free range rude? Well hell that’s an easy one, they’re raised that way. The apple never falls far from the tree, especially the rotten ones. Nowhere is this more evident than at a snack bar shift at a little league baseball game. Just as you can see the polite and well-mannered little ones, so can you see the rude little appetizers on display. I refer to them as appetizers because most of them would not make a meal. I have witnessed many a rude little spawn talking to adults in a way that would make most parents shutter.
If either of my kids spoke to an adult the way I have heard some of these little appetizers speak to me, they would never, ever, see a flicker of a television screen, no less the controller of a Playstation 2. And heaven help you if you decide to confront them on their bad behavior, because their parents A) wouldn’t believe that little Johnny could ever do such a thing and B) would threaten you with bodily harm should you try to dispute their version of events. If you don’t think your spawn will turn on you later, we will see. Not seeing the forest for the trees indeed.
So to the parents out there who are doing a good job, keep up the good work and to the ones that are raising the rude, bon appetite
The Shrub Speaks: “We're fighting an enemy that knows no rules of law, that will
wear civilian uniforms, that is willing to kill in order to continue the reign of fear of Saddam Hussein.” 3/25/03, at the Pengagon.
-- Ahh, yes, civilian uniforms
|
