
The Age of Rudeness - DiabloD3
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/magazine/the-age-of-rudeness.html
======
RodericDay
> It strikes me that good manners would be the thing to aim for in the current
> situation. I have made a resolution, which is to be more polite. I don’t
> know what good it will do: This might be a dangerous time for politeness. It
> might involve sacrifices. It might involve turning the other cheek.

Important counter-point: [http://gawker.com/on-
smarm-1476594977](http://gawker.com/on-smarm-1476594977)

The idea that politeness is what divides the do-gooders from the bad ones is,
I think, part of what got us into this mess in the first place.

~~~
vorotato
Yeah politeness associated with "goodness" is like associating beauty with
"goodness". Anyone with sense knows they aren't even slightly correlated.
Politeness looks nice, but can be Machiavellian or it can be good. It really
just depends on how its applied.

------
williamgb
Excuse the slight deviation from the principle of the linked article. I am
compelled to speak out about one egregious paragraph.

> Meanwhile, in the Essex town of Harlow, a Polish man is murdered in the
> street by a gang of white youths who apparently heard him speaking his
> native language.

I spent the first nineteen years of my life in Harlow, living in the area of
the murder referenced in the quote above. Most reports suggest the attack
happened after a prolonged confrontation[0], not on sight of sound of a Polish
voice.

While this act was desperately sad, Harlow remains a home to relatively large
Polish and Lithuanian populations. It is, however, also afflicted by high
youth unemployment and drug-related crime. The Stow in particular has seen
some horrible crimes over the last 10-20 years, including the brutal murder of
my childhood friend's aunt, mere feet away from the scene of the 2016
murder[1]. Indeed, violent crime is a real problem[2].

I found it distasteful at the time when sections of the press pounced upon
this story in a reckless frenzy of angry, vindictive narrative building in the
immediate aftermath of the EU exit referendum vote. I find it to be utterly
disgraceful now.

[0] [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-
news/2016/dec/01/boy-15-charg...](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-
news/2016/dec/01/boy-15-charged-with-killing-of-polish-man-in-harlow) [1]
[http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/anniversary-appeal-killer-
mother...](http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/anniversary-appeal-killer-mother-
beverley/story-28646917-detail/story.html) [2]
[http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/harlow-council-leader-jon-
clempn...](http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/harlow-council-leader-jon-clempner-
insists-town-is-safe-after-shocking-crime-
figures/story-30118995-detail/story.html)

------
hyperliner
Maybe these people appear rude to the writer because people like her see them
as invisible, low class types who are supposed to be run over by the pettiness
of each self-aggrandizing, set-absorbing and condescending request from people
like the writer. Maybe the writer claims superiority over these poor people
simply because their uniforms are cheap-looking (her words), or her face is
not what she expected (her words) or her salary doing their jobs is lower than
what she gets paid writing this selfish nonsense. It's typical of the liberal
elites like her that think that the world is wrong, only because the world is
less privileged than they are.

------
saxonklaxon
I agree with the rude man that accusations of rudeness are themselves rude!
(Even where they are true).

This reflexive property is interesting, for example:

Hatred is harmful. Accusation of hatred is a form of hatred. Racism is
harmful. Accusation of racism is also harmful. Rape is harmful. Accusation of
rape is harmful. Pedophilia is harmful. Accusation of pedophilia is harmful.
Blasphemy is harmful. Accusation of blasphemy is harmful.

Obviously the harm isn't generally equal. Does the disparity say something
about how honest a society is?

~~~
tradersam
It's a vicious cycle.

