Is it just me or are people becoming meaner ?

[kiselo_vrhnje]

People are always mean. Proof? - Wars.

[hypno-potamous]

There have always been unkind people and lots of them. Best to avoid them and stay with kind folks. Makes for a better environment to live in.

[stormium]

I think this scenario is more likely. I think this trend is a good thing in general - it represents introspection in society and a recognition that behaviors we used to consider as acceptable aren't really all that acceptable. It goes to far some times, but shit happens.

agreed but at times, i still long for the days of yonder; back when simple attitude issues could be easily corrected with something as simple as a bar of soap wrapped in a towel... *sigh* ...the ole days.

now... now you can't even joke about having sex with your dog without someone getting all upset.... heaven forbid that it gets a little ruff.

i really thing people are just getting too soft and too sheltered. it's a big world out there and the majority of it isn't that friendly. take away the jamba juice or starbucks, and reality will soon become increasingly callous.

[Spud17]

It seems to me that people are getting meaner and nastier every day. I don't get it ! Am I the only one noticing this or is this just my imagination? My mother insists that it's the Internet and my girlfriend thinks it's the food.

Television is to blame for our perception of everything, so I don't think people are getting meaner at all, I think people are pretty much the same, some mean, most alright. TV tells us in it's many messages, that it's dangerous to go outside, that we might get stabbed in the face by some menacing (because tv has demonised children) yoof in a hoodie because we looked at him 'wrong,' that we might get run over by a drunk driver, squished by giant hailstone, or obliterated by a rucksack. It teaches us that people are selfish narcissists who only care about themselves etc etc.

TV's enemies - (ie the competition for your attention) the internet and video-gaming, frequently come under attack: online stalking, the pseudo-violence/vid gaming link, computer viruses (the millenium bug was one of the best scare stories invented by tv to scare us away from computers), the list goes on and on.

God forbid we all stop watching tv because we might open our eyes and some of us may start to think. In the real world, people the world over still perform random acts of kindness, still give to and work for charity, still feed the homeless, still care about their fellow man, and still treat others as they wish to be treated themselves. If you believe the world is a dark and forbading place, or that there's no hope left, you should quit tv for good, because it's all lies.

There are mean individuals everywhere, at any time, and any one of us has probably been mean to someone else at least once, but people who are mean all the time don't get far in life, which is why the majority of people are actually okay. OP - the woman you encountered in the supermarket probably isn't like that all the time, and those who are, tend to eventually get knocked down a peg or two by someone else, because generally, human societies keep themselves in check for the benefit of the majority.