For the week of August 8 - 14, 2001

Resist rudeness

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Rudeness has taken up residence in the American psyche. It’s so widespread, it’s even begun to take root in the Wood River Valley, a place once renowned for its amiable people.

Rudeness is a resident we should evict—and fast.

Once it takes root, it is difficult to eradicate and it knows no limits. It’s only natural enemy is active resistance and censure by others.

The most visible:

Street Hog: His motto is "Me first." Intimidation is his game. He uses an SUV as an offensive weapon.

Boom-box Driver: He thinks his pounding baseline and incredible woofers are a treat the whole world should hear.

Right-laner: The commuter-hour driver who uses the right lane to pass a line of cars and then jams his vehicle into line.

The Grump: This person thinks nothing of cutting into line, double parking or parking in zones for the handicapped. If called on it, their facial expression says, "You’re taking up MY space."

The Boor: The person who allows their cell phone to ring in concerts, movies, shops, restaurants and meetings. They act as though no one is irritated by the sound of the ringing 1812 Overture and loudly take the phone call in front of a captive audience.

The Yakker: The person who just can’t still the chatter—even during quiet movie scenes or quiet musical interludes.

The Boldly Tardy: The people who arrive late for outdoor concerts, but think nothing of blocking others’ views by placing their high-clearance lawn chairs in front of earlier arrivals on blankets.

The Sniper: A creature who shows up only at contentious public hearings. It can be identified by the hisses and groans it emanates when someone with a different opinion has the floor.

The really rotten thing is that rudeness is its own reward. It gets attention. It saves time. It allows the rude to operate as if he is the only person in the world for whom comfort or service is important.

Like a pebble in a pond, the rude affect everyone around them and get away with it because everyone else is too polite to call them on it

If the Wood River Valley is not to lose its friendly welcoming ways, the mostly polite folks who visit and inhabit the place need to defend it from the rude by making sure rudeness doesn’t pay.

People should not tolerate rudeness—from anyone. A word here, a word there and rudeness will not pay. Like a strategically placed ski pole in a crowded lift line, a little resistance will go a long way toward keeping the valley a friendly and civilized place.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.