common courtesy

Politeness has become so rare nowadays.
Unfortunately, people who are polite seem to be often taken for granted, and even considered weak.
 

Common courtesy, common decency and common sense all seem to have one thing in common: They are all disappearing from our society........where so many people seem to be of the opinion that the world revolves around THEM.
 
Yep DGM, it seems like the newer generation is... "I want it and I want it now" mentality!
 

In this and other threads, it always keeps coming back to family and how we are trained. That, in my opinion, is the foundation of all.


Very true. I was was raised to be very polite and I still am. I tend to move in circles where people are very polite to others and this helps too.
 
Common courtesy, common decency and common sense all seem to have one thing in common: They are all disappearing from our society........where so many people seem to be of the opinion that the world revolves around THEM.

It's getting worse by the day. My wife and I were talking about this a few weeks ago and we both remembered how it used to be that rude/ignorant people were the exception, now it seems that they are the majority. Whenever we run into a nice person with manners these days, we always say "There are still some nice people around".
 
Warrigal, here they don't say, "No worries." Instead, "No problem" seems to have replaced "You're welcome." That's fine, same meaning.

I find people pretty kind and polite, sometimes overly so. When they see my gray hair, they seem to assume I'm absolutely helpless, even though I am perfectly ablebodied. On public transport, people are always getting up to give me their seat.

The only exception to that is drivers. As soon as they get behind the wheel of a car, they turn into rude bullies. Everybody cuts everybody off, and if God forbid you make them wait a second or two, you get an immediate honk. Many older people have stopped driving because of this. Their slower reaction time makes driving terrifying. I don't know why all the decency and courtesy go out the window as soon as someone is behind the wheel of a car.
 
The phrase I hear most often when I say thank you is someone always says "No problem."

I'm sure they're being polite, but do you ever get annoyed at that? Sometimes I feel like saying (even though I don't) "there is no problem at all, but thanks for responding".
 
The phrase I hear most often when I say thank you is someone always says "No problem."

I'm sure they're being polite, but do you ever get annoyed at that? Sometimes I feel like saying (even though I don't) "there is no problem at all, but thanks for responding".

That doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I say "no problem" or "you're welcome" interchangeably.
 
I had manners and courtesy instilled in me from youth.
But it was physically forced upon me (and my siblings).
I often got compliments on the behavior of my children. It is still with me.
But, I am passive-aggressive when I'm taken advantage of or wronged.

Ma'am is NOT seen as polite by many young(ish) ladies these days, so I've dropped it from my vocabulary.
 
"No problem"," no worries", "my pleasure" are fine with me. Thank you and You are welcome get to sounding kind of rote to me after awhile. Are you saying that just cause your mama made you? I am not asking that question to anyone here, I'm just saying what goes on in my head when I hear it. I don't like being called ma'am.
 
Yes I do. Our generation (for the most part I think) was taught to be respectful and courteous so most of the people I know from our generation are that way. Fortunately my son, his friends and colleagues, my DIL, as well as my grandchildren and their friends all seem to be courteous as well.
 
Before I retired and after "no problem" replaced "you're welcome", the brass made a rule NOT to say "no problem" to a customer. They said it wasn't professional and could wrongly imply there was a problem to begin with.

I tend to agree but even though I dislike the expression, I use it myself sometimes, since I hear it so often! :p
 
Olivia, I feel the same way about "Ma'am," even though I am far from young. I always get the feeling that they are talking down to me, somehow; it has a sort of annoyed inflection.
 


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