Rude People.

I spoke with a very rude person on the phone today…soooo rude that I burst into angry tears after hanging up.  Why I didn’t just hang up on the person is a long story…you don’t want to know.

The thing I’ve been thinking about today is why, on the telephone, some people feel they have permission to be rude in a way I don’t imagine they’d be in person.  The autonomy, the facelessness…I suppose it allows a freedom for folks to vent, feel “assertive,” and let it all hang out.  I wonder what will happen to this phenomenon in the new millineum, when phones that show live video of the callers faces to each other are the telephonic way to reach out and touch someone.  I hope it’ll have the effect of keeping people polite.

Rude people!  Ugh.