In a similar vein to Ette’s perspective on people with no manners, I’d like to put in my own tuppence worth on people who are just rude. I’d actually like to take a more analytical approach to this subject because I have experienced some excruciatingly vulgar people who are in fact well educated.

Having a BAD ATTITUDE does not make you cool, unless your surname is Baracus

I was going to have an opening gambit saying that maybe some people aren’t trying to be rude, they just have no social skills. And if that is the case, then I’m not going to take the piss, because it’s not their fault. I went to a school full of people like that and after a while you stop taking it personally and just shrug it off.

I’m talking about people of whom you can tell have got social skills, they just choose to be rude. Now I’ve always been of the opinion that just because you may not like someone, doesn’t mean that you have to be rude. You can be civil, after all there’s no reason why you have to act like a peasant even if you do find yourself in a compromising situation. But when I talk about people choosing to be rude, I’m not talking about people who wouldn’t know any better, I’m talking about people who are educated, which gives them even less of an excuse to act like an ass.

Even if you are bored talking to someone, you don't have to be rude about it...

For example, displaying negative body language is one thing; folded arms, looking all around except the person who’s talking to you, rolling your eyes and rocking back on your chair. That’s all pretty rude, and it actually is quite deliberate. In fact it’s only one stage away from actually telling the other person to shut up, walking off/turning away mid-conversation or yawning loudly on purpose. What ever happened to just politely saying “please excuse me” if you find yourself talked to by someone. Acting with the air of self-importance is a ghastly trait to have rather than seeking a politely more pragmatic solution.

I concur that I’m not great and first impressions, but if you don’t know someone, there’s no reason to denegrade them when they’re making an effort to get to know you. Personally what people say about first impressions is true, mud sticks, and are you inclined to not make an effort with that person in the future. However if you meet them again, and they still portray a terrible attitude, which invokes memories of the last time you had the displeasure of their company, then you are perfectly justified to consider them to be deserving of your contempt.

Hypothesis: People choosing to be rude are arseholes