Listen, you are rude

Humans, according to research, are programmed to be selfish, maniacal being incapable of thinking of anyone but themselves. We may live in the 21st century, but as it turns out our brains are still programmed to live in the Stone Age.

In the olden days, everyone knew everybody else. If you got out of line, you got ostracised. And when you’re talking about living by yourself in a wilderness full of saber-tooth tigers and other human devouring creatures, living in isolation generally meant death. Now we live in large societies that are simply too large for our cave-man brains. Frequent interaction with people who do not know you and cannot exile you means that you can pretty much be as rude as you want without any consequence. But why are some people so rude?

Not a day goes by that I don’t witness someone being rude. I am even starting to think that some babies were born rude, you know the ones that make funny faces at you or sticking out their tongues at you when you are sitting next to them in church or at clinics. Sometimes you just get that urge to slap their little faces then you remember it would be violence. There are rude drivers, rude pedestrians, rude callers on talk shows, rude hosts on talk shows, rude debt collectors, rude customers in stores, rude salespeople in stores, rude co-workers, rude bosses, rude celebrities, the list is endless.

Editor's Comment
Prosecutors deserve better

These legal professionals, who are entrusted with upholding the rule of law, face numerous challenges that compromise their ability to effectively carry out their duties.Elsewhere in this edition, we carry a story on the lamentations of the officers of court.The prosecutors have raised a number of concerns, calling for urgent attention from all relevant stakeholders, including the President, Minister of Justice and the Attorney General. Their...

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