Common Courtesy…
Have you ever been driving down the road at night and someone keeps flashing their brights at you over and over like a crazy person? Or have you ever seen anyone driving without their headlights on and wondered how can I inform this person that they are doing that? Better yet, have you ever seen someone or met someone and they invite you to something or somewhere or end a conversation with “…yeah man, drop by whenever”? Then when you show up they look at you confusingly and ask “What are you doing here?” And my favorite, have you ever been or met someone who was just awful at something but everyone around them told them they were great? If you’ve been a part of or witnessed any of these everyday events then you my friend have had front row seats to yet another compelling reason as to why OUR GENERATION SUCKS.
Common courtesy is a double edge sword that is crippling us as a society while at the same time being a quality that everyone lacks to an extreme. To top it off much of actual courteous behavior is over looked, misunderstood, or other people are just too damn stupid and/or uniformed to know whats going on. I don’t know how many times I have watched and myself participated in flashing bright lights at drivers with their headlights off, and these drivers sit there completely oblivious as to why everyone keeps flashing them. I’ve even seen some idiots get mad at the other drivers and go so far as to flip them off, yell out their window, and funniest of all flash their lights at everyone while in the end returning to having no headlights on. When did they stop telling drivers what that meant. Granted I don’t really remember being taught that but I and everyone I know still seems to know that is what you’re supposed to do. And for those of you reading and are just now realizing “…oh, that’s what they’re doing,” shame on you.
Now if you’re wondering “is he really bitching about being nice,” you bet your ass I am. Being nice isn’t all its cracked up to be and many instances being nice causes far more harm then good. Now I wish I could find the video clip but my retelling will just have to suffice. Four years ago I had this bar tending job and the waitresses used to watch American Idol when it was slow at night. So one night I pay attention to this one poor, poor girl auditioning. SHES AWFUL! Just dreadful, a true torture to listen to. And of course all you Idol fans out there love the auditioning process because you love to watch the canning process of all these hopefuls who quite simply can’t sing. What set this poor girl apart from the rest? She broke down crying, like they all do when they are told they are awful, but this one was devastated. She kept asking to try again and this and that, and then through her sobs comes a bit of anger and denial. Amidst her tears she informs everyone that all her life everyone, everywhere, all the time, tells her that she is an awesome singer with the voice of an angel. Now if you had heard this girl sing you would know that no one in their right mind would EVER tell this girl she could sing …….unless they were being nice.
Where did being nice get this girl? Humiliated on national TV, broken down, defeated, and most importantly learning the ugly truth that shes been lied to her whole life. HER WHOLE LIFE! That has to be devastating to learn that everyone you’ve ever known would rather lie to you then tell you the truth, and about something so silly as singing. But this poor girl’s sob story isn’t the real tragedy. The real tragedy is that this goes on everyday everywhere. Constantly people are giving others false hope, leading them down dead end roads, and sending them off on fruitless journeys in a half-assed misguided attempt to be nice. When in the long run the nice thing to do would be to say, “No, you can’t sing,” or “No, your cooking is awful. Don’t try to be a chef,” or “Yes, it would be completely retarded for you to (enter lame brain idea here).”
When did lying become nice and the truth become so mean. Honestly, who was the asshole who turned honesty into a bad trait or an asshole thing to do. I have never in my life thought “It would be really nice if someone would lie to me about something I’m serious about.” Yeah, at times the truth may hurt, but it will also set you free. In the long run people are always more grateful that you told them something honest even if it was hard for them to hear or you, the informing party, come off as a total asshole.
Finally the drop by, a system NO ONE honors. All the time these days people say “Hey, we should do this or that” or “meet up soon,” or the ever classic “drop by anytime.” But have you ever tried following any of those invites up. If you ever have then you are aware of the ever growing epidemic which is that no one honors the open ended invite. Try next time. Someone will extend you an open ended invitation and when you redeem it they look at you like you’re the one who is crazy for just dropping by. You told me to asshole! If you don’t want people dropping in on you unexpectedly, showing up to something you don’t want to see them at, or they are someone you honestly don’t want to see other than through the random bump into, then stop inviting them to shit.
These three very small but very commonly occurring events are just a few of the many many ways that what is known as “common courtesy” is all but courteous. Well, not so much the car lights thing, that’s just you being retarded. But still! Retarded people are lashing out at those who are being courteous and its because our idea of what is and isn’t courteous is all ass backwards. Its time to grow up people and get some sense. Start thinking of the people you are interacting with and less on how you think those people are viewing you. Because quite honestly, after your “courteous” song and dance and you walk away with a false sense of superiority because you THINK people think you are a nice and courteous person, what actually happens is they realize you were full of shit and then their lasting impression of you will take hold. And they, the temporarily duped, feel all the more retarded and are led to one inescapable truth…. OUR GENERATION SUCKS!
