People, things have gotten completely out of control. Simply going to the grocery store shouldn’t feel like risking your life, yet basic public manners seem to have vanished entirely.
In the past month alone, the level of impatience I’ve experienced is wild. There was an older guy who rammed me with his cart as hard as he could because I was in his way. I was literally trapped waiting for the people in front of me to move, but instead of a simple “excuse me,” he chose violence with a metal basket. Thankfully, he was escorted from the store.
Ever since COVID, nobody waits for you to make a selection. I’ve had someone reach out and take something straight out of my hands, and multiple people have shoved past me shouting, “Excuse me, I want that!” Well duh. So do I that is why I am standing here.
Trying to leave is just as dangerous. Nobody will pause for two seconds to let you back out. Last week, a guy parked next to me couldn’t wait 30 seconds for me to load my final bag. He pulled out right on top of me, nearly ran over my foot, and thought a quick smile and wave made it all better. Oddly, we had waited for me to get the first bags loaded.
The “me-first” mentality has been around for a long time. It isn’t a new things. I think the constant state of chaos from our current administration certainly isn’t helping matters. To be clear: calling out the current administration’s environment is not an endorsement of the previous one either. It’s simply an observation that the top-down climate of hostility and disorder bleeds into everyday life.
We are living in a “me first, I don’t care about anyone else” society, and this daily aggression is just one more symptom of a culture that has lost its footing.
We don’t have to live like this. We can choose to slow down. We can have manners, be polite, and respect the people sharing space with us.
Be the change. Take a few extra seconds, breathe, and just be kind out there.
The Dee Zone 