Why can't people be polite

Linda, I agree with your assessment of this particular situation. I just came out of an environment where you have 200+ people in one building, couped up because of 50+ inches of snow on the ground, and people just speak what is on their minds using the excuse that "this is me, love me or leave me." Unfortunately, many of these people are institutionalized and will NEVER be able to survive in the real world, especially with the mindset that they can just say what they want to say when they want to say it. I was raised to use manners such as "Yes Ma'am/Sir, No Ma'am/Sir, please and thank you and you're welcome, Excuse me, etc." I remember one time when I was in the third or fourth grade, I was walking down to the lunchroom, and I walked in between two people who were conversing. The one teacher involved in the conversation, grabbed my hair and pulled me backwards and around her back. While it is not the way "I" would use to teach someone a lesson, it certainly had an impact on me. Now, some 30 years later, I NEVER walk inbetween two people who are talking. I will say "Excuse me," and go around them, but never ever will I walk between them. That same teacher became my fifth grade teacher and she taught us manners in addition to writing, reading and math. And you know what?? Everyone loved her by the end of the year!