Civility

Two rather typical urban incidents yesterday disturbed me.

The first incident occurred as I was driving through the neighborhood shopping center. As I approached a pedestrian crossing which is often treacherous, I saw a young woman approaching on the sidewalk to one side. I stopped well in advance of reaching the crossing. My stopping caused an oncoming car to also stop. The young woman walked part way across the roadway and hesitated in front of my car in order to give me a hateful look. Then she tilted her head up in an aggravated gesture as she moved on. I cannot imagine what that was about.

The second incident occurred in the local supermarket in the same shopping area. I was waiting in line at a cash register. A young woman with a child of about three pushed past me without a word of apology to the cashier. She had passed her items from an adjacent line to the cashier, whom she apparently knew. In an attempt to model more socially appropriate behavior, I smiled gently at the three-year-old. The woman sneered at me, pulled the child close to her and the child looked at me with fear and suspicion. The cashier seemed to notice all this and was particularly friendly and cordial when I got to her. 

How can an overpopulated society function without conflict when these behaviors become commonplace? 

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