Manners

Several incidents recently have gotten me to thinking about manners.  There's a line from a Pretenders song "when your property took the A-train, I wonder where your manners went"  At least I think that's the line, if it's not, it's what I hear, which brings me to today's musings.

A lot has been made recently about that woman in that diner on the east coast who actually yelled at a family that was ignoring their screaming toddler for FORTY minutes.  Geez, even Mother Teresa would have snapped after that. What did the mother do?  Did she apologize for ruining everyone's meal by not being a parent to her child?  oh NO!  She went and threw herself a Pity Party on social media, begging for people to sympathize with her plight.  I'm surprised she didn't open a Kick-starter to help sooth her injuries from this "Assault"   She said "we are never coming back here" as if THAT threat is enough to make the owner change their stance and beg them to come back.  After reading the account, and several people who were there chiming in, I think the owners should be thankful this woman is not coming back.  She obviously missed the part of the parenting notebook that says it is OUR responsibility to teach our children how to behave in public.  There is nowhere I can think of, except maybe the playground, where a child screaming at the top of their lungs is really accepted.  When my daughter was almost a year old, her godmother invited us to join her and her family at a local French restaurant.  I can tell you the proprietor was not pleased to see us come through the door with a baby, nor was my friend's stepfather, who was hosting the party.  We placed our daughter between us and kept her entertained while having conversation and eating the meals we ordered.  We fed her some things from our plates and the food we brought for her to eat.   After about an hour, the proprietor came over and said "You wouldn't even KNOW there was a baby here!"  and asked if she could show Kate off.   Kate WAS adorably dressed in ruffles up to her ears and she was giggly.  The woman waltzed her around the restaurant, singing to her in French.  She told us we could come back any time.  My friend's stepfather said much the same thing. HAD she been having an off night or been cranky, we would have taken her home.  We took her places so that she would learn how to behave in public. 

I went to a concert in the park last night.  About midway through the act we had come to see- who was NOT the headliner- two guys plunked themselves down on the lawn in front of us and started having a LOUD conversation, shouting to be heard over the music.  EXCUSE ME????  If you don't want to hear the music, go somewhere else to talk.   What kind of manners is that anyway?  It's so rude and they were just TALKING.    SHUT. UP.   It used to be that you could shush someone.  NOW it's like THEY have the  God-given right to disrupt you and if you call them on it YOU are the problem.  No wonder I don't really like going out to see concerts anymore.  It's not your house, you are not watching this alone in your underwear and MAYBE the rest of us would like to hear what we came out for and not be treated to YOUR conversation.

One last thing that makes me shake my head.  I was heading for the doorway of the local Starbucks.  It's inside an office building so the door is open and there was a modest line, as there always is at that time of morning there.  A guy who had been right behind me quickened his pace to get in front of me in the line.  REALLY?  Are you jonesing THAT HARD for your triple decaf mocha skinny latte that you had to essentially cut in front of me?  He didn't even acknowledge my presence or what he had done.  I just shook my head. Unbelievable. 

I wonder if we raised a bunch of entitled brats who have no consideration for others in their quest for ME! ME! ME!  I do see some members of the next generation who are well mannered, so it gives me hope, but I just have to wonder some days.