I feel like there's been a lot of hate in facebook land these days. Okay, let's be real, there has ALWAYS been a lot of disgruntled venting on facebook, but lately, it just seems more intense. This was only magnified to me when I purposely posted something that was just, ho hum, normal day, average quip about some random thing and I got almost 50 likes. I could tell, that people were tired of reading all the pros and cons the for or against political unethical whatever that has been quite rampant the last month or so.
Anyway, enter in...politeness and service
Can these things ever be wrong? I would like to say no, but then I have people posting things that I just sit there and go, really? You're really getting upset and offended about doing service for someone and they didn't say thank you?
Someone held the door open for a lady and her five rowdy kids, and gasp. They had the audacity to not say thank you? Where are people's MANNERS these days?! So, the person holding the door yelled out to them, Thank you! Your'e Welcome! Have a nice day! BAM.
There's a few things with this scenario, that I wish I could say is a one time occurrence, but honestly I've seen similar things multiple times in different ways all over...let's look at it and dissect it a little.
On the one hand, you have someone wanting to be nice so they hold the door open for someone. For whatever reason, the other person doesn't say anything in response. Your initial reaction...how rude! But...is it? Do you really know? A whole plethora of possibilities comes to mind... maybe, they actually said thank you but you didn't hear it. Maybe they were holding a screaming toddler and the last thread of sanity they own is in not breaking down into a puddle of goo as they walk out to their car. Maybe they're deaf and can't talk. Maybe they don't speak the same language as you. Maybe they got in the car and thought, wait, did I even thank them for opening the door? Maybe they didn't. Maybe it didn't even occur to them to say thank you. SO WHAT. Is that really why you are helping them?
Why were you holding the door open? For a thank you, or because it's a nice thing to do? Honestly, if the only reason you were holding the door open is to get them to thank you, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. If you are so upset that they didn't thank you afterward that you have to write about it on facebook, then maybe you shouldn't be holding the door open for people.
Personally, I hold the door open for people because it's nice and I like it when people do it for me. If they say thank you, great, I just got a warm fuzzy, if they don't, no biggie to me. If we could all just be a little nicer to people, just to be nice, just because, no returns required, no validation, no additional thank you, just think how much more kind the world would be instead of getting bent out of shape over the thank you that wasn't given.
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