Is Common Courtesy Really That Rare???

[sfmarksman]

I was at Giant Tigers the other week waiting in line at the register when the lady purchasing her items in front of me had sneezed. Upon hearing her sneeze I instantly offered her a "Bless You Ma'am" and a smile, out of politeness and that's just simply how I was raised. She looked at me stunned like I took her by surprise but than quickly had a huge smile like she just found out she won the lottery and said, "Thank you so much, no stranger has ever said 'Bless You' to me in public." Shocked and honestly in disbelief of her statement I replied back, "You're very welcome, I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day." While it made me feel good to see her appreciation of what I would simply consider as common courtesy towards another person, it made me upset at the same time, wondering if common courtesy really is that rare in todays world... Would love to hear what others think!

[CrazyQT]

I always say Bless you when I hear someone sneeze and 99% of the time I get a "thank you" in return.

[Candini]

I don`t say this. Not for the reason I`m not ' respectful ' but because I don`t mean it in the ' religious ' view of it.

IMO.

[Minou]

I don't tend to say it... I figure the person would rather have their sneeze ignored!

[c_mcarthur]

i say 'excuse you', not everyone is religious and to say ''bless you'' kinda insinuates that your telling them ''god bless you'' which some people may find offensive

[tjthemanto]

I was at Giant Tigers the other week waiting in line at the register when the lady purchasing her items in front of me had sneezed. Upon hearing her sneeze I instantly offered her a "Bless You Ma'am" and a smile, out of politeness and that's just simply how I was raised. She looked at me stunned like I took her by surprise but than quickly had a huge smile like she just found out she won the lottery and said, "Thank you so much, no stranger has ever said 'Bless You' to me in public." Shocked and honestly in disbelief of her statement I replied back, "You're very welcome, I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day." While it made me feel good to see her appreciation of what I would simply consider as common courtesy towards another person, it made me upset at the same time, wondering if common courtesy really is that rare in todays world... Would love to hear what others think!

I don't know about the sneeze thing.

But yes in general , common courtesy is pretty rare thesedays ..I see very little Please & Thank You's thesedays as opposed to say a few years back.

Also see very little smiles and Hi/Hello's thesedays..especially among stranger's. Its kind of a ME FIRST attitude thesedays , whether you are driving a car or standing in a grocery line

[frugalkitty]

Good on you for making her feel great op.

I do not say bless you...the saying originated because a long time ago people thought that when someone sneezed a part of their soul escaped, or that they could be coming down with the plague, or that when you sneeze your heart stops, so they said "God bless you" (The Judeo-Christian God) , which was shortened to "bless you". I do not say it because I know their soul isn't escaping etc., it is common to say but personally I won't say it. Whether it is polite or not I can't find it in my heart to say it...it feels like a lie, euro-superstition.

[GracieAnne]

I sneeze all the time in public, I have the weird thing where I sneeze when I go outside into the sun, and I don't think I've ever had anyone say bless you or something of that nature. I honestly thought when I saw the title, that this thread was going to be about holding doors open. That's where you can really see how bad things are. I don't want to think about how many times I've been smacked in the face by a door, thinking the person in front of me would hold it open.

[luckbealady]

I always say Gesundheit (it means good health).

But I understand completely what you're saying.
The other day there was an older lady in front of me at the Shoppers checkout with 2 cases of gingerale (one regular one diet). She seemed to struggle with the first one, so I told her I'd get the second one out for her, and I put them both back in the cart after they were scanned. She was so incredibly grateful, and said to me "There are good people in this world still". I was absolutely shocked by how thankful she was. I was more than happy to help her, and it never occurred to me that my small effort could generate such a response.
I found it's also a good reminder to be just as thankful to others that help me. I always thank a person that holds a door open, or assists me in any way. But it's almost an automatic thank you, and I wonder if maybe I'm not being grateful enough.

[cinpow]

I don't tend to say it... I figure the person would rather have their sneeze ignored!

me too...

[Decaf]

I also don't find it offensive at all bc the person said that means well.

[Shirnette]

I tend to say bless u...if I'm the recipient I always always reply 'thank u'....The door holding is a biggie(a few months ago when I was pregnant en route to obgyn,a lady held the door open for me to go in the building..would u believe that a man actually poked his way past me though he saw my big belly...she told him she held the door for me & to left me enter first..he then stepped back..I thanked her as well.good 4 her to speak up.I've held the door for others as well but not even a TY(as if my job is to hold doors)....Letting ppl i when driving is another biggie.A lot of ppl are just clueless about common courtesy(sad way to live IMO)I'm not surprised by good manners; I love it as I practice it.

[roseofblack25]

I don`t say this. Not for the reason I`m not ' respectful ' but because I don`t mean it in the ' religious ' view of it.

IMO.

Same...if I said it I would feel like I was lying since I'm not religious...

[abbasgirl]

I don't tend to say it... I figure the person would rather have their sneeze ignored!

It embarasses the Heck out of me when complete strangers say it to me. It's silly, I know, but I hate drawing attention to myself.
I've never said it to anyone else either. To me it sounds superstitious.

[Minou]

LOL... With a young baby in stroller and purse, diaper bag, and 2-3 year old in tow, I would use the button to open the automatic door (often a side door) at places like Sears. A few times, I had pushed the button and was lining up the stroller and preschooler to go through the opening door, only to have a man say "excuse me" or "thanks" and squeak through the open door ahead of us. And there were always 3-4 other doors available for these guys to use -- they were just too lazy to open them!