Rude People

One of my biggest pet peeves is rude people. Often times when someone is rude or snooty to me, I go out of my way to be extra nice to them. It’s people who are rude that really need a good swift kick in the butt or maybe they just need a hug. Either way, there is no excuse for being rude or mean because it accomplishes nothing.

I stopped to get a drink today at a gas station. There was a girl working the counter by herself in the store. She had a long line of people waiting and I could tell she was having one of those days. Well after standing in line a couple minutes, this very rude guy busted in the door and stepped through the line saying “EXCUSE ME” in a very rude tone of voice. He started yelling at the girl behind the counter that he had prepaid for $30 in gas and the pump still had not been turned on. Then his wife came in yelling at the girl as well. The wife had told the girl the wrong gas pump number so it wasn’t entirely her fault. Then he asked to speak to the manager of the store and demanded the manager’s name. Everyone in line was quite in shock at the actions of this man and made comments about how rude people can be nowadays. So the girl apologized to this man and refunded his money as he demanded. By this time, there are probably 10 people in line waiting to pay for their items. So the man left and a couple of us in line told the young lady it would be ok and not to let him get to her. Then the girl who was working started crying behind the counter. My heart instantly went out to her because she was all by herself trying to help these customers, and then the man came in and made a scene like he did. The lady apologized for crying and said she tried not to let him get to her. Once it was my turn to pay for my drink, I told her that the guy was a jerk and not to let it get to her. I told her life is too short for people to act that way and that was uncalled for. I also know the manager of the store personally and told her I would call her myself and vouch for her. This was only the girl’s second day of working at the store and it didn’t help that she was working by herself.

I knew this story was blog material as soon as the big old jerk rude man busted in the store and created the scene he did. It made me think that everyone has their up and down days. And when we are having a down day, it seems like more things happen and appears as though the world is against us. In reality, the world is never against us. We all must go through tough times or rough days to make us appreciate the good times and good days in our lives. I wanted to give the girl behind the counter a big old hug and tell her it would be ok. I do think and hope I made her feel better after talking to her for a minute.

Does this story make you think of an instance when you have seen someone be rude for no reason and ruin another person’s day? Does this make you think of a time where you have been that rude person and ruined someone else’s day? We’ve all been there at some point whether we’ve been the recipient or deliverer of being rude to other people. I have made a point that when I am frustrated I don’t deliberately attack the person I am dealing with in the situation. Often times that person is trying to help and does not deserve to be attacked if we don’t get our way. Just please remember if you are ever in this situation, please try to keep calm and not take it out on the other person.

I am going to pray for both the girl who was the victim of this rude attack and also for the man who instigated the scene. The girl needs some positive influence in her world today. And the man needs to learn patience and respect for other people. I pray God will give all parties involved what they need so they can learn from this unfortunate incident and move forward with a more positive attitude. Life is too short to live that way and I wish people would wake up and realize it. If I can help one person learn to be nice to others, than my job for the day is done.