Cutting

We should all stop cutting

Posted on: 05 Jan 2023

Cutting in line is not ok.

As a young child and through elementary school we were all taught that you should not cut in line. The ever popular chant of “no cutting” in a lunch line or others is still fresh in my mind. And as we grow up we continue this thought that it’s not nice or appropriate to cut in front of somebody else in a line. So why is it that being in a large heavy metal cocoon that could potentially harm yourself or others, makes people forget that cutting is still not OK. If you think that this is a new phenomenon of the generation who doesn’t care about anything but themselves, I disagree. When I was young (30 years ago), I remember how people in the grocery line queued up waiting patiently for their turn but as soon as they got in their cars they would cut you off or try to squeeze in ahead of everybody else.
This isn’t a new phenomenon by any means. It seems that once you insulate somebody from having to interact directly with another person they sometimes change their behaviors and actions. Cutting in line or cutting people off connect car it’s just one example. I have also noticed over the last several years that through social media and remote working it has become easier to say things that are hurtful and mean when you don’t have to do it to somebody’s face and see their reactions. I personally have started to imagine that whoever I am speaking, writing or driving next to is physically in front of me and act accordingly. I still believe in the value of working remotely and using technology to allow us more freedom, but I think that we still have to acknowledge each other as people.