A Rude Society

[talon]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33963193/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

She cut in line. She admits she cut in line, because her cousin's line was moving faster than the line she chose. She put her items on the conveyor belt ahead of a woman who was already in line and in the process of unloading her cart with the full expectation of being next to check out.

I'm not surprised things got a little heated. I'd be pissed, too, if I waited in line and was finally up next, to have someone line-jump and cut in front of me. It doesn't matter if the person legitimately ahead of me is a cousin, a best friend, or even a spouse! I'm OK with someone running off to exchange something because they discovered they got the wrong size or the wrong brand or the one they have seems to be leaking - or even if they forgot something and ran off to get it quickly before they were fully checked out. I'm OK with people sharing a shopping cart. But if one person gets in one line to check out and the other is in a different line, you do not line jump to take advantage of a faster moving line.

I'm sorry things got a bit heated, and I'm sure many rude and inappropriate things were said in anger, but that doesn't supercede the original wrong - the woman who line-jumped and cut in line.

Her actions led to what followed.

There are different ways to handle line jumping and cutting in line. It appears all parties involved took the worst possible actions.

And all of those wrong reactions came from the wrong action the woman herself first took.

The actions afterward did take a racist turn, but that turn was born out of anger, frustration, and opportunity when the woman didn't do the right thing after she was obviously (and freely admits to being) in the wrong.

Had the line jumper approached the woman already unloading her cart and explained that the person currently being checked out was her cousin and asked if she could go ahead, chances are the woman unloading her cart would have been OK with it. I'll let people cut in front of me if they explain and ask if they can. I think most people do the same thing.

What I don't know is if the line-jumper asked first. From the actions that followed, I'm assuming not.

Is it possible that the racist actions began right there, by the line-jumper not asking to cut in line? And why did the line-jumper not ask? Was it because the woman unloading her things was white? I don't think we'll ever know for sure, but my theory is that the rude behavior (and at this point, it is rude behavior) of the line-jumper gave permission for the others in line to be rude back.

I don't know who slung the first racial slur, and I doubt anyone will admit to it, but my feeling is that the racism was mutual. We should admit that all parties involved were racist by the end. Either we slap everyone with a racism fine and then move on or we disregard the racism charges and consider only the actions: the woman who line-jumped and set off the series of events is obviously the original guilty party and while I don't think she deserves a prison sentence for what she did, she does deserve to be punished for starting all of this. Depending on what actually happened, she may deserve a stiff fine (but not jail time, at this point) for resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer (which always strikes me as a stupid charge, but I digress), inciting a riot (OK, that may deserve some jail time, but not 15 years - if drunk drivers only get a year, then this is worth a week or a month since it was small), and to have a criminal record follow her.

I don't know about other people, but I wouldn't want someone who can't control their temper teaching my children - there are other jobs she can have that are related and can use her education and skills without putting children at risk of her temper. Many of them even pay a whole lot more.

It's possible that, if this is handled right, a lot of good can come from it.

But I'm a pessimist. It will be mishandled. Everyone will go away even angrier. Everyone will be convinced they were the wronged party. The line-jumper will be convinced she didn't do anything wrong and was unfairly persecuted. The line jumper will blame it all on everyone else.

And that's a pity, because what this all boils down to is rudeness.