In the Absence of Common Courtesy

At a gas station this evening, making my usual late night caffeine-laden beverage purchase, I turned to a young woman who was standing behind me in line.  In my usual congenial manner, I said to her "Good evening."  I would've expected a likewise response, but was quite surprised to have my gesture rebuked with a look of disgust.  I am certainly no expert in reading facial expressions, but if I had to guess what she thought at that moment, it would probably be "Who the heck are you, and why are you talking to me?"  I averted my gaze from her, and resumed my purchase.  Walking out of the gas station, I glanced back at her, still appalled that someone could be so blatantly disrespectful.  And that got my mind to working, as does pretty much every event in life.

What does it say about us as a society when we can't acknowledge the practices of common courtesy?  While each of us has our own busy routines that must be addressed each day, have we become so self-involved that we can't even take a brief moment to extend simple pleasantry to another person?  And when someone else decides to do that for one of us, is it really so difficult to return the gesture?  Even though my life can be hectic and stressful, I don't see the need to disregard another person's kindness.  In the most difficult moments of life, I find those moments even more appreciable.

I can't comment on what was going on in that woman's life this evening.  Maybe she'd just fought with her boyfriend or husband, and was on some personal mission to hate all men.  Maybe she'd lost her job today, and was more concerned about her own poor fortune than my petty small talk.  Or maybe she found my appearance unappealing.  I'm not the most attractive person to walk this earth.  Far from it, in fact.  But whatever her reasons were for being so unpleasant, I still found her response to be quite offensive.  (Maybe she found mine to be the same.)

But in the end, I guess the most important thing is how I perceive myself.  Despite the fact that this woman was uninterested in my act of courtesy, I know that I at least made an effort.  For a few seconds, I attempted to connect to someone I didn't know.  Perhaps that is what really matters.