culture: regulae stultis sunt
Does anyone else ever feel like a colossal tool for following the rules or playing fair? Is that just me?
Just this morning I had to leave the office to go to another appointment, and I hadn’t finished my coffee yet. I took it down with me into the metro, juggled it while I finished the Sudoku puzzle, got to my destination and only when I was outside that station did I take a sip. Why? Because them’s the rules, that’s why. On my ride over of course, people were eating, drinking, taking up multiple seats, shoving on the train before people could get off, standing on the culturally-accepted wrong side of the escalator.
I don’t speed (when I drive) or drive drunk. I don’t cross against the light into traffic. I hold regular and elevator doors for slow walkers. I give up my seat on the bus or metro when appropriate. I smile at people on the street even if they wonder what I’m up to or if I’m about to ask them for money. I generally do unto others and try to give everyone a fair shot.
Am I alone in that? Are we losing those “golden” societal/cultural rules? Should I just not bother? Is this what goes through someone’s head before they hit the Falling Down point or a Frank Grimes freak out? If so, it should be a very interesting time in the airport when I head to visit the family for Christmas. 
regulae stultis sunt is a latin translation of “rules are for fools”, borrowed from Darrell Peart, furnituremaker.com
Whatever happened to ol’ Grimey, anyway?
latest entry: nutrishuss
I’m the same way. I get grumpy when other people don’t show the same common courtesies. My biggest pet peeve of late is doors – people not holding them when I am right behind, and people who don’t say “thank you” when I do. My second biggest is crossing in a crosswalk behind some stunod who has taken it upon himself to direct traffic and decided for himself and everyone behind him to let cars pass.
*grump*
My biggest pet peeve is people who take up two parking spaces because they think their car is better than yours. If I wasn’t a nice person I’d key every one I saw.
This growing lack of courtesy and social graces is an odd phenomenon when you think about it. The more “connected” society gets the less courteous we become.
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