When it comes to manners, practice what you preach
In response to Peter W. Rusland’s thoughtful and articulate opinion on the “extinction of manners afflicting our fine valley” I would like to offer this slightly different perspective.
Would it not be more appropriate for you, Peter, to be thanking the store staffers when they are serving you? They are doing their job. A job that I feel confident is not providing them a high standard of living. Now you want them to thank you for allowing them to do that job. Why?
When you are pulled over and issued a speeding ticket, does the officer thank you for speeding? When you call tech support does the representative thank you for not being able to understand the basics of technology, so they must talk you out of the mess you have created? Yet you want store clerks and receptionists to show you some manners and thank you for allowing them to serve you.
If you want to be polite, kind, and gentle and then carry those civilized habits into our post-pandemic world I suggest, stop thinking there are considerate local folks being made to suffer by ignorant, politically correct, poorly raised, inadequately taught, mindless social media addicts and start practicing what you are preaching.
In my opinion the case proof of the extinction of manners and a variety of other human graces was put forward by Peter W. Rusland writing his letter to start with.
Dara Quast
Cobble Hill