1.When was the last time you encountered someone being rude or disrespectful?
If I have to think of one incident, it would be during a grocery shopping trip while on holiday. While making payment at the very high tech cashier, an elderly lady cut the queue and went straight to the top of the line – ignoring everyone else but the cheese in her hands. Everyone was taken aback – everyone around her looked at the rest in almost disbelief and after a few seconds we just smiled.
(In hindsight I wonder if it was anyone else other than an elderly person – would the crowd have reacted differently?)
2.How did you process that incident in your mind?
Obviously it shocked me. I think no one got upset because there were other possibilities: she didn’t realize there was a queue, the high tech check out system was probably different from the usual grocery shops, and everyone else was able bodied and not in a hurry – and even saw some humor in that.
3.Being Asian we often relegate this to poor upbringing and apportion the blame to parents. is this still relevant you think?
To a small extent, sure. But that holds true if you’re 15. As adults you have control over your own behavior, and as long as there is self awareness and desire to change – it is all up to you #justsaying. That being said – there’s been a Richard Gere posting on Facebook making its rounds – also about respect being something he was raised to appreciate – so it doesn’t seem like it’s an Asian thing. Can training can help someone to have respect, you think?
