It may surprise some but I go out of my way to be courteous and kind throughout my day. Every time you let someone in front of you in traffic, you could be restoring their faith in humanity, if just for a moment. You can see it in their smile, it's awesome.

Part of the reason I follow this course is because I used to be younger and more prone to confrontation. It usually doesn't feel good, even if you "win" the confrontation.

This doesn't mean that I take schit from ass holes. Oh no, quite contraire. But it takes a lot more than someone being inattentive in front of me, either driving or walking, to set me off. I think that if WD lived in a big city instead of the middle of nowhere, he'd be forced to learn better manners and a little patience w people. Otherwise, you're getting in fist fights every time you turn around.

Sooner or later when he steals the unattended space, there's gonna be a bi*ch slap...

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Ha! Jeff, you and I may occasionally disagree on HD and their business approach...but on this, we’re very much aligned.

No question I would have gently tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the order taker. Heck, it’s Taco Bell...that’s who goes there. He’d have probably said thanks and stepped up to the counter.

As a frequent traveler I see rudeness daily. People step off the gangway and simply stop to root around in their luggage while blocking a line of people trying to deplane...who knows, they probably start a thread about the a-hole that asked them to step to the side.

But if there’s an opportunity to help someone or take advantage of someone who is simply distracted, I always help. Patrick... not so much.

Well the ‘you were rude WD’ people have shouted down the ‘phone guy was rude’ people. In some cases through that mightiest of forum tools the multi quote!

Sorry WD. I’m on your side in that people lost in their phones while in line are the jerks but it seems you’ve lost this one.

What if it had been a woman w 3 small children, distracted because one was running off? How about someone reading a book? Wtf difference does it make why someone is distracted? It isn’t rude to be distracted when the thing you are distracted from is as inconsequential as a fking Taco Bell line in the middle of nowhere. Just tap the guy on the shoulder, no drama/resentment/stupid forum post. I tap people on the shoulder all the time in lines but could not tell you when the last time was, it’s about as important as sneezing.

The larger point is generally being a dick technophobe geezer who is just angry about all these whippersnappers on their gosh-darned cell phones all the time. Being “that guy” is a lot worse than someone costing you an extra 3 seconds to get your slop at the counter. IMO, of course.

This thread has gone way far off the rails, par for the PPOT course I guess.

I have to admit being utterly surprised at anyone taking the side of the phone guy. It takes all kinds, and we have them here in PPOT.

There is a lot of creative thinking going on here - people making phone calls, people in a car, women distracted by kids -but none of that is relevant because none of those situations were the case. The fact is the guy chose to plug in his earbuds and browse through pictures on his phone while holding up a line of busy people because looking at his phone and playing his tunes were more important to him than anything else going on in the restaurant.

Comments about my helper’s choice of cuisine – what’s that about? Just people taking the opportunity to flaunt their gastronomic superiority?

Going even farther off the rails, Jeff and Burnerman take the opportunity to indulge their fantasies of being tough guys. You sound like boys who’ve had sand kicked in their faces and like to imagine – from the safety of the internet - what you would do about it.
On the other hand, someone clued me in that Jeff admits to being immature at times. (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/820730-i-can-so-juvenile-times.html) .

Jeff – this is one of those times.

Well, you posted it here for everyone to talk about, and that's what we're doing. I don't think anyone -truly- means ill will towards you unless they are butt hurt about some different conversation somewhere else on the BBS. And that's a waste of time for sure.

No one is saying the guy on the phone was not being rude. He was being extremely rude. No doubt about it. A real self-centered jerk all the way. On that I agree.

It all boils down to how we choose to address the rudeness that seems to surround us these days in our everyday lives. There are those of us who will (apparently very proudly) add to it with their own childish, rude behavior, seizing every opportunity to be an ass. Then there are those of us who will at least start out by trying to be polite and get along, seeing an opportunity to do our part to make things just a little bet better.

Kind of defines the man in a way, doesn't it?

Yup. This ass hole is astonished to discover there are those of us who are not so angry at our world, who are not so effing rude, who will go out of our way to get along rather than to take advantage. Incomprehensible to this bitter old man.

It appears you and I have gotten into his head. With better than a dozen people on this thread telling him what a prick he is, he has, for whatever reason, singled us out. I guess we should be "flattered"... or not... Hell, in my case, he has (again, for whatever reason), even decided to make things up about me in some sort of a juvenile attempt to deflect from his own, self reported ass-hattery.

Oh, and Patrick, that someone who ratted me out as being "so juvenile at times" - was me, you dipschit.

He was with Her. Nuff said.

I'll tell you what's rude. When you secretly cancel your college roomate's pizza delivery and he calls Little Caesar back and goes ballistic. That's rude.