Rude Behaviors: Blame TV?

Back in ancient Rome, spectators went to see gladiators fight to the death for the sake of entertainment. We may cringe at the cruelty of this, but are we really that different today? We may not be publicly murdering people, but we are practicing rude behavior to shame folks in front of the television audience.

Once again, I see an article about Simon Cowell harassing some kid on American Idol for the sake of entertainment. If it's not Simon, it's a reality TV show kicking a person off the island or publicly stating how much one dislikes another, but why?

These shows, for the sake of entertainment, are sending a scary and real message to our youngsters: it's okay to be rude to one another. As someone who works with children, I see that they are getting this message loud and clear.

But, it's not just our children. Society in general has become overly rude. Just the other day, I stepped into my vet's office to fill a prescription for my dog. The woman quickly took my order and handed me the pills. All she had to do was get me to sign the receipt, and I'd be on my way. Instead, she stopped to talk to the vet and help a young co-worker who didn't understand how to perform a function on a computer. After I stood in wait for several minutes, she handed me my receipt without so much as an apology for wasting my time. As so many other times, it became obvious that I--the customer--am not the most important person.

We may not be killing each other with swords, but there are other ways to bring harm.

Character Attack

At work, everybody has one number for the copy machine with a limited number of copies. Someone--wonder who--repeatedly runs out of copies and hunts and pecks for another number. This leaves someone else with no copies. I have been a victim of this despicable practice, but never would I stoop so low as to steal another person's copies.

The other day, my principal accused me of doing this! I was highly offended and hurt that someone could even think me capable of doing something so dishonest. I may have faults but dishonesty is not one of them.

So I investigated to see why I was accused, and it turned out to be a misunderstanding. As a special education teacher, we have four special numbers that we use to copy IEPs for parents. When one runs out, we move to the next one. One day at the machine, I was trying to copy an IEP for a waiting parent. The first number was used up, so I moved to the next one and found the same problem. Apparently I said, "I've got to find a number with copies." The person behind me interpreted this as copy stealing and reported me to the boss.

Now, couldn't they have said something directly to me at the time? Sometimes the adult world is not that different than childhood.

The critics gave “The Lightening Thief” movie poor reviews, but I liked it. Sure, it wasn’t as good as the book, but what movie ever is? The purpose of going to the theater is entertainment. I enjoyed the special effects, watching the story unfold, and chemistry between the characters.

Although the movie was fun to watch, a lot was cut out from Rick Riordan’s book. For example, I never saw Percy interact with many of the kids from school or camp. This was a major part of the book that time didn’t allow. Also, a huge draw of the book was the unanswered questions. I spent a large part of my reading time wondering who Percy’s father was. Riordan dropped little clues that allowed me to piece together Poseidon. Did anyone head into the movie not knowing who Percy’s dad was on the front end? Furthermore, in the book, I wondered who stole the lightning bolt? The movie didn’t have that question looming over the audience. If anyone wondered anything, they were quickly told.

So why did I still like the movie? …fun Hollywood drama. If anyone asks my opinion, I would still say, “Read the book!”