By Cheryl Mattox Berry
The holidays bring out the best and worst in people. I’ve seen bad behavior everywhere – grocery store, mall, gas station, parking lot, roads, you name it. I’m not talking about just adults. Lately, groups of middle school girls behaving badly have crossed my path.
Let’s start with the movie theater. On a recent outing with my family to see Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, a group of girls came rushing into the theater talking loudly and laughing. They sat behind us and immediately began talking at the top of their lungs, loud enough for people in the next theater to hear them. After my husband turned around and gave them the evil eye, they had sense enough to quiet down – for a minute. Each of us had to take a turn telling them to “hush” or “be quiet” throughout the movie. We’ve often had to get an usher to warn teen moviegoers, usually girls, to tone it down or risk getting booted from the theater.
Tip: The movie theater is not the family room in your home. Respect the fact that others paid, just like you did, and have the right to enjoy the movie without a lot of loud talking. Keep talking (whispering, really) to a minimum and no yakking on the cell phone or texting.
Now, let’s go to the mall. While walking through the corridors, you cannot walk five abreast or side-by-side. Other shoppers are walking toward you and shouldn’t be knocked into the potted plants and garbage cans because you and your friends want to parade through the mall in marching band formation.
Tip. Be courteous, walk to the right. Drop back to two abreast and allow enough room for oncoming walkers to pass.
Question: When did cussing in the presence of adults become commonplace among teens? Used to be that you were taught to respect adults. That meant acting and sounding a certain way in their presence. These days, adults are subjected to language from girls that used to come from drunken sailors.
Tip: Grown-ups don’t want to hear girls cussing in public or anywhere for that matter. It doesn’t look good or sound good. Among friends you can say what you want, but be aware that a public place is nowhere to cuss even if you are with your BFFs.
The last place bad behavior pops up – waiting in line. Talking on the cell phone is the most popular way teens kill time while waiting. Do you realize that a lot of the things you say would make a porn queen blush? You’re sharing way too much information during these conversations. The public doesn’t need or want to know the intimate details of your personal life, and you shouldn’t be telling your BFF’s business either.
Tip: A public place is no place to have a conversation about personal stuff.
Bottom line, you never know who is watching your behavior or listening to your conversations. Put your best face forward when you’re in public. If your friends have a tendency to act out in public, don’t join them. You can be the voice of reason – the leader – and set the tone for the group’s behavior. If they see that you’re acting in a more sophisticated manner, it may just rub off on them.