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S. Levin's avatar

Maybe that strange person was high on something.

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April's avatar

I’m sure.

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Dan F's avatar

April-

Yes, indeed. I would like holding a door for anyone receive a nod of the head or a simple thanks rather than acting like it is expected. How about looking behind you rather than just letting go of that spring-loaded door to avoid bashing my face.

I’m with you on phone use in public spaces. I have found that volunteering advice to the person talking brings the point home quite effectively. A side benefit is the wonderful dirty looks you get.

My eldest, after discovering that the beer bottle thrown out the window of the car in front of them while driving in the NJ Turnpike smashed their headlight and got stuck there asked, “how hard is it not to be an asshole?” The answer based on recent data suggests that it is much harder than we ever expected.

Dan

substack.com/@adultlanguageispossible

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April's avatar

Yikes !

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Annie Gottlieb's avatar

Love this. I've long believed simple courtesy, like saying "Thank you, sir" to the bus driver, was an underrated remedy for racism and other forms of nihilism and contempt.

(It's complicated, because the non-psychotic homeless panhandlers in my NY neighborhood are the ones who say "God bless you, Momma." It's good business if you're a panhandler, sure, but they say it with real warmth.)

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April's avatar

Thank you! Like you I had a recent experience of an old friend not liking some things I said in my Substack. He unsubscribed after yesterday's piece about the immigrant Lyft driver voting for Trump. It's interesting how people are offended or upset by the idea that someone else disagrees with them. I was perhaps a bit snarky, but I wasn't stating my opinion on who should be president, I was sharing the opinion of a person I met. Oh well. I love how my Substack friends and I get along even when we disagree!

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Steve S's avatar

What a peaceful world this would be if there were more like you.

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April's avatar

Yeah. I bet a lot of people would call me a "Karen", which is an inherently racist term, just because I want rules and laws to be enforced, even if I'm too scared of being shot to complain.

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