Despite a recent Associated Press poll concluding that people are ruder today than they were 20 years ago, many people in State College say they have no major complaints about impoliteness.
The AP poll found that about 70 percent of those questioned said people are ruder now than they were in the past. The results of the poll were based on telephone interviews with 1,001 adults in the United States. Ipsos, an international polling firm, conducted the interviews over the summer and released the results late last week.
Many of the complaints of rudeness by State College residents were of minor offenses, such as failing to hold doors open or omitting courteous phrases, such as "please" and "thank you."
"Sometimes people come off as being rude when the intention isn't there," said Stephanie Woodring, owner and manager of Woodring's Floral Gardens, 145 S. Allen St. "We see lots of very nice people here."
The poll found that 93 percent of people felt that an increasingly rude society was a result of parents' failure to stress the importance of good manners and a tendency to overlook bad behavior.
"There are many situations that young adults find themselves in where [rudeness] is tolerated," said David Eggebeen, Penn State associate professor of human development and sociology.
The poll linked rude behaviors to the increasingly fast-paced and high-tech nature of the world today. Modern communication gadgets caused people to expect instant gratification, sometimes creating impatient attitudes in face-to-face interactions.
Eggebeen said common tools such as cell phones are sometimes at the center of etiquette problems. "It's not unusual to be walking down the sidewalk and the person behind you is engaged in a cell phone conversation and is using language that is not appropriate to use in public," he said.
Many students said they deal with the rude actions of others during their commute to class each day. "On rainy days, people hit you with their umbrellas and don't say they are sorry," said Chelsea Rosnick (freshman-nursing). "A lot of bikers cut you off and drive past you too fast. They aren't courteous of pedestrians."
Brandie Markle (graduate-energy and geo-environmental engineering) said she experiences rudeness from other pedestrians as well.
"People are always bumping into you and not saying 'excuse me,' " Markle said.
The stress and demands of today's world are partially to blame for this shift in manners, according to the AP poll. The poll found that some people behave aggressively over trivial issues such as getting a bus seat or waiting in line.
"It is sometimes necessary to be assertive, but not rude," Rosnick said.
Thirty-eight percent of those polled said they were so bothered by rude behavior that they asked others to stop the offending action. Fewer people admitted to engaging in rude behaviors themselves. Only 13 percent of people admitted to making obscene gestures while driving, while 37 percent of people admitted swearing in public, and 8 percent said they were rude on their cell phones, according to the poll.
Happy Dog vendor Steve Gilmore said he tries to be courteous even when he deals with rude people. "Be as nice as you can be. You don't have to be in their world," he said.
