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Archiver > PHILLY-ROOTS > 1999-04 > 0923003401


From: "Sharon Carberry" <>
Subject: [PHILLY-ROOTS-L] Word of the Day and then some
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 13:50:01 -0800


Patrick has supplied, inter alia, this definition of
"rude" : "Abruptly and unpleasantly forceful"

and

someone else has observed:

>...re Gene.....some of us LOVE him.....this
list simply wouldn't be half as fun without him!!

Well, after pondering this for a time and having been
through this a few times in the past year while I have
been on this list, let me add my observation:

Yes, I believe that the way Gene expresses himself is often abrupt and
unpleasantly forceful, if this were
a face-to-face conversation. This is email and has
no benefit of facial cues or verbal inflections. Gene does contribute a
lot and has lately been strictly on point for the purpose of this list.
So, from a
historical point of view, he is doing much, much better.

>From a broader societal perspective, what Gene
does passes for the norm now in the 1990s. I
rue the passing of civility of the type I was trained
to exhibit. At least, Gene is not cutting anyone off
on the highway and giving a finger sign. He is not barking at anyone to
"sign here" on a paper. With that said, I still do wonder - did I not
hear Gene complaining about how rude the staff is at HSP ?
It would appear that there is a concensus on rude
being undesirable but no firm agreement on
what exactly is rude. I prefer to err on the side of
safety but that is only my approach.

Sharon Carberry

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