So this is something that's been brewing for a while, not like a nice cup of PG Tips, we're talking Gandhi’s revenge after a night out down the local curry house...Yes people, you guessed it, it's about to get messy.
It erupted on boxing day, a relatively peaceful afternoon, despite the pecking order of suicidal shoppers, hacking at the sale rails for their latest must-have bargains. I'd just finished coffee with the familan in the go-to coffee house and was making my way out. Seeing as there were a few members of the public wanting to come in, I thought I'd take the time to hold the door open and let these fabulous people in (It was christmas after all, a time of good-will and such). Oh they were wonderful, beautiful, each one in turn, waltzed on past...not even a smile. This is where shit hit the fan. I felt myself enraged. I, as a 21 year-old, was bearing witness to members of the public (many older than myself) ignoring my act of common courtesy, not even a 'ta'. The ignorance, THE INSOLENCE! HOW HARD IS IT TO UTTER A SYLLABLE? A SYLLABLE!! YOU SCUM SUCKING PEASANTS! I didn't say this; unfortunately my anger didn't prompt vulgarity. However, it did prompt audacity. I found myself bold from boiling blood. I locked eyes with each passer-by and in turn took the time to utter three syllables with each of them. 'You're Welcome', two words which were delivered coldly, challenging their ignorance. Some carried on, obviously transfixed by the prospect of a cafe latte and a blueberry muffin. Others developed this look, a look I can only describe as something of disgust, as though I had just made an inappropriate joke about their mother (you know, a fat one). It was that moment, that look, that unknown ignorance, that made me die a little bit inside, right there and then in the middle of Swindon Town Centre.
What have we become? More and more I am being subject to door-opening without any kind of 'thank you', any kind of recognition. More and more I am bearing witness to simple requests lacking a 'please'. Too many times have I seen people on busy trains and buses hastily putting their bag down on the aisle seat because they SIMPLY CANNOT BEAR to sit next to another human being. Too many times have I been subject to unnecessary rudeness, filthy looks and a general lack of common courtesy. Whatever happened to helping a brother out, eh? Love thy neighbour and all that jazz. Common courtesy is being forgotten, left behind with the p's and q's. A small task yes, but a big deal all the same. How long does it take to say please? How long does it take to hold a door open? How hard is it to say thank you, to be nice to someone? It isn't. It really isn't. Common courtesy is something I take seriously. It’s easy, it's affordable and it’s efficient. Therefore having a little common courtesy here and there really has no time for excuses. It is the marine biscuit of social acceptance; we're talking hobnobs, not rich tea's.
Have some common courtesy. Acknowledge someone's niceness, and be nice yourself. Let's face it, no one likes an Arsehole.
