What happened to manners!

[Brendan]

The problem with people banging on about manners is it always comes down to being a generational thing. It always ?used to be? so much better etc.

Well ask yourself this question. If your children?s generation do not have the manners you expect whose fault is that, theirs or yours?

I don?t really care myself.

Personally I hope the generations I sire will turn this world into an almost entirely unrecognisable place, frightening and inhospitable to the shitehawks who are my contemporaries in this one.

One can but dream.

[mockney piers]

Are you describing Clapham again?

[Ridgley]

Brendan wrote

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The problem with people banging on about manners is it always comes down to being a generational thing. It always ?used to be? so much better etc.

Well ask yourself this question. If your children?s generation do not have the manners you expect whose fault is that, theirs or yours?

I don?t really care myself.

Personally I hope the generations I sire will turn this world into an almost entirely unrecognisable place, frightening and inhospitable to the shitehawks who are my contemporaries in this one.

One can but dream.

Does not matter what generation you are brought, up in good manners does not cost anything you bend the tree while he or she is still young and they will be a credit to you. My daughter has very good manners was taught from day one as was I.

[Brendan]

I was regularly beaten to within an inch of my life in a Victorian style school where manners where enforced with a cane and I?ve turned out to be a complete cunt.

Go figure.

[Ridgley]

Brendan wrote

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I was regularly beaten to within an inch of my life in a Victorian style school where manners where enforced with a cane and I?ve turned out to be a complete @#$%&.

Go figure.

Ok I don?t agree with form of method you have experienced, as that will just make the situation worse but I do still feel manners is important in society.

[StraferJack]

manners and offence are intertwined

I don't think many would argue with you Ridgeley, manners are important. But some people try to find offence and bad manners everywhere. I challenged the OP because I'm one of those people who spends a fair bit of my weekend pushing a buggy around. And yes, you will unquestionably encounter people on Lordship Lane who lack manners and consideration. But as a percentage? In context? It's like Narnia out there

From the butchers, down to Goose Green I have a buggy and various bags, stopping off at various places to get vittles. 95% of the time not only are people friendly and polite, but they go out of their way to help. Reading the original post you would think it was a warzone out there - and it just isn't

I do see some people (and I'm not implicating the OP in this) with faces like thunder who look as if they own the place, who I can see would.. discourage... friendly interaction.

[Ridgley]

Yes you are right Straferjack I find the community, in ED quite friendly but there are some places were manners does go out the window and sometimes it can be a cultural differences there are some cultures were they don?t say please and thank you as they don?t see this as bad manners but it still should all start in the home.

[StraferJack]

I know what you mean - that woman in the Irish shop could cheer up for a start ;-)

More seriously - I'm aware of cultural differences, and whilst I'm partial to a please and thank you, I'm not that fussed as long as everyone rolls along without chaffing. Me holding a door open and getting a curt nod instead of a smile and thank you I can live with. Someone deliberately not holding a door open for me would be different - it just rarely happens

[????]

I'm with Strafe. On the whole I find England, certainly East D but to a lesser extent London pretty polite compared to many places. I think people confuse polite with friendly sometimes though, i don't know if you've been to Ireland SJ but the Irish (in my experience) generally combine politeness and friendliness in a way that brits aren't generally very good at. Still plenty of please/thank yous and general helpfulness around though.

[StraferJack]

It's what the irish say behind your back you need to worry about ????

Which I?m partially joking about obviously ? but I agree. One of the reasons Ireland does so well (and boy does it need to) with tourists is that very warmth. It can be overplayed but I sometimes wish I saw more English people like Eric Idle?s character in National Lampoon?s European Vacation (well a BIT more like him anyway)

[mockney piers]

Agreed, spainiards dont sell friendliness cheap, but when you've got it, it's European friendliness mountain time.

Politeness, well, I won't say they don't do it, they do, but they do it a bit differently, which is why Brits can often find them a bit brusque.

I think Britain is very polite, but I do find outside London much friendlier than inside.

That said ED is pretty good on the whole, it's one of the reasons I settled in the area having lived in many other bits of the city prior to it.

[????]

Against stereotype I always find New Yorkers friendly, and with Stereotype most americans ridiculously so. Mid-West small town america, for all its faults, has to be one of the politest places on earth for a white brit. I think the Spanish have some British like reservation too Mockers