Why Don’t You Know How to Act? 10 Signs Of Poor Manners

August 20th, 2012 - By Valerie J Charles

My mother always told me that you can tell how a person was raised by how great/poor their manners are. If I were to take make my mama’s views my own, I’d assume that almost every other person was raised by a pack of wolves in an untouched forest. I don’t wish for us to revert to the Victorian or Elizabethan ages manner-wise, but My God, some of us can do treat others a little more nicely, and carry ourselves with a little more respect.

So, here are 6 signs of poor manners. Hopefully none of our readers will see their traits within these scenarios. And of course, please list what you consider to be poor manners in the comments section. We’ll be looking for them!

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  • fletcher

    Two more: Standing in front of elevators or doorways and blocking them, and saying “uhn-hun” when I say excuse me. When I say excuse me, you say “excuse me” back, get it? Especially if you are blocking the doorway to my office.

  • Spikeygrrl

    I too have worked in retail, and would FAR rather have a customer place money onto the counter — preferably with the bills spread so their denominations can be seen, and the coins on top — than pass it from their sweaty, sticky hands directly into mine.

    HYGEINE trumps ego these days! I have NEVER seen a customer “throw” money onto a counter — at least here in America. That’s a thing only that “lords” do to “peasants” in swords-and-sorcery novels and films.

  • http://twitter.com/Arwen8Aragorn Arwen8Aragorn

    What about letting someone get a word in edgewise so that they don’t have to be rude to get a chance to talk? I’ve sat 20 minutes trying to get a chance to respond to someone talking. I don’t even know how they breathe. And for pete’s sake, if you ask someone a question, stop talking long enough so they can answer.

  • Lawless

    I understand that some of these things are seen as appropriate social behavior by a certain class/race/ethnicity/national origin (etc) but it’s ridiculous to go around spouting your idiosyncratic rules as things necessary to the higher functioning of society. It denies the context-specific and individual-specific details that affect situations. For example, I once accidentally bumped into an older lady and felt terrible, and told her I was so sorry! Her response was to tell me I should have said “excuse me.” Clearly, that offended me. So, should she have to apologize because I was appalled at her behavior? Maybe yes, maybe no. The problem is that people are so mired in their sense of what’s “proper” or “correct” that they ignore the reality that everyone has their own sense of morality an proper behavior. To deny that all of the things on this list are somewhat idiosyncratic to the author would be to deny that every person comes from a different set of circumstances.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Anders-Nilsson/100002875827929 Anders Nilsson

    I somewhat disagree about spitting in public, for example sometimes it happens that I get some sort of goo in my throat I need to spit out when I had a cold or sickness, am I suppose to run several hundred meters to the closest public toilet just to spit it out?

  • Carlene

    What p**s me off is when i’m drivin down a neighborhood st and the driver stopped his car in the middle of the road talkin to his/her friend or the person is in the road talkin to the driver.

  • Mary

    per the loud, rude people, my mother always told me that the louder you talked, to less intelligent you were. In my experience this seems to be true.

  • Holdon

    If these rules define a person as having bad manners, then America has produced several generations of increasingly poorly mannered people. Actually I already knew this and just no longer go where I expect large numbers of rude and disrespectful people to show up: high school anything but especially graduations, music concerts, movies, “mart” type department stores, public pools, sporting events, local celebrations and etc.

    The only way to keep the riff-raff out is to charge an entry fee that’s more than they care to spend. Generally if it’s not free. i.e. given to them with no thought of earning anything, the low lifes tends to stay away. Tends to stay away. But that’s changing as more and more often those that work are supporting those that don’t.

  • April64baby

    I agree with all of these and the ones others have posted. Who walks around coughing, yawning etc. and doesn’t cover their mouths like they’re in the woods or the zoo or something? It’s ridiculous. I also think it is not very mannerable or polite to be in a public dining establishment where others are dining and blow your nose. That is just so disgusting to me. Who wants to hear that (and God forbid you actually have to see it) while they’re trying to eat? Really? You can’t excuse yourself to the restroom and take care of that? I was raised to always BE a lady. If you have to “act” like one you may not actually be one.

  • T L Miller

    OMG!!!! They made special places for that: PARKING LOTS! If you’ve gotta talk with ‘em, here are some options: park the blankety-blank car, and get out of said car to talk, or invite your guest into your car and you two drive off somewhere to talk. And a cop is NEVER around when that happens! Why is that so hard? Of course, the ‘parade grand mashal’ would be laying on his horn and ready to thump if YOU held him up by stopping in the middle of the street to chat up your buddy, now wouldn’t he? That ‘do-unto-others’ theme keeps popping up as a common thread!

  • T L Miller

    Oooo, LAWD! Amen, and Amen! As bad as it is to say, you hate to see some people coming because you just KNOW there was absolutely NO home training in multiple generations! Working with the public just makes your head hurt some days! But, add to the list, the folk that ruin your meal at a restaurant who neither control their bratty children, or spend way too much time loudly “correcting” the bratty children they’ve let run wild, i.e. “Dakota, stop it NOW! 1….2…” (repeated about 15 times!) or “Come back here, Devonte! Devonte! Sit DOWN!!” (repeated about 15 times!) I see why restaurant prices are so high: to discourage some ‘visitors!’ The Case of the Missing Manners is easily solved, because you can see how it’s passed down, God help us!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1508885357 William R. James

    Why isn’t walking around with your pants down on that list?

  • darcampb

    the throwing money at the cashier makes me crazy. And you know whats crazier?? The money/credit card throwers have their hand out in your face to receive the change EVERY. SINGLE TIME. Oh no. I bypass the outstretched hand it put the change on the counter EXACTLY the way I received it. Give respect in order to receive it. Period.

    • Mama G

      I have done the same thing as you. The problem is, these people see nothing wrong with their behavior. But you can be d**m sure that they notice when the change isn’t put into their outstretched hand. My mother used to do this and it was embarising as all get out. I often would walk away when it came time for her to pay because I didn’t want to be associated with her rudeness!!

  • Stacy L

    oohh, how about when you say something to someone and they don’t hear or understand you and they immediately respond w/ that loud, obnoxious a$$ “HUH”, cutting you all the way off when you’re still trying to speak!! Just thinking about that makes me mad. What happened to ‘I’m sorry?’ or “I couldn’t hear you”??

  • Stacy L

    gah!! When I worked in retail I hated that!! (the throwing money on the counter) Especially when I would, often times, have my hand out and they would still throw it down. I bet if I threw your change down on the counter you would be quick to call a manager, smh! That one irked me to no end.

  • SheLaLa

    First of all I thought I was thje only one who said, “raised by wolves.” LOL My mom always bust in to tears when I say that. I don’t think I have to add anything, because the commenters have hit on every possible rude item. I was raised to say please, thank you, etc. However my granddaughter’s mother was not said I didn’t have to use those word until you started to come over here. Which is shocking because they live with the grandma. I have to retrain my grand daughter everytime she comes over.
    Don’t forget the customer service who gets paid to provide a service and hates her job so she treats you rudely.

  • Chanda

    The spitting thing I hate with a passion. Also people arguing (loudly) in public like a fight is about to break out especially when it’s us doing it but really anyone. Nobody wants to hear that sh%t, FOHWTBS. Another reason not to go to black clubs I’m sorry. The root of these poor manners is that some people were never really raised, they never had a parent or guardian light their a$$es up, keep them in line so they just kept on doing whatever they wanted. I guess the streets raised them.

  • Cassandra

    When I used to work as a cashier i hated when people would put their money on the counter, and throw their credit cards in my directions, so teach them a lesson I used to do the same to them. Thank God I no longer have to do that, and hats off to anyone who works in a retail setting.

  • chocol8terain

    What about those rude sales reps that throws your product, change or other on the counter when you’ve clearly placed it in their hands.

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