Some people have no manners. But this is different than being rude.
Manners are culturally-assigned standards created to secure functional and appropriate social interactions. Manners are taught by families, by societies, by religions, and by traditions. They vary according to cultural affiliation and often are considered in direct contrast to other culture's manners. For example, it is considered good manners to bow as a greeting in Japan whereas in the United States, it is considered a gesture of servitude. As well, in the Middle East, a thumbs-up sign is considered an insult, but in the U.S. it is a sign of approval. These are issues of manners; etiquette if you will.
Rudeness has a different face and is not at all related to manners, unless, of course, you judge different manners as rude. To be rude is to intentionally dishonor, demean, debase or belittle another for the purpose of causing distress. Rudeness is rampant in the media via TV talk shows, gossip shows like TMZ, sitcoms like The Simpsons, and radio programming like Howard Stern's. In some ways, the Culture of Rudeness is a valuable revenue source for the media conglomerates.
People buy rudeness. But why?
To mock another is to devalue their humanity; their right to be different than you. It can make you feel better psychologically to consider yourself superior to another, or more exactly, to make another appear inferior. People rarely consider the results of their actions if the payoff for this is not promptly experienced, however, the ramifications of this type of behavior have horrific and damaging outcomes.
The outcome reflective on the rude person is that they risk being ridiculed for their lack of manners because, let's face it, it is bad manners to mock another person. This outcome would exist in a world where manners are valued. The outcome reflective on the person being demeaned is victimization, which causes others to feel compassion. Again, this exists in a compassionate world.
In this light, then, rudeness ultimately hurts the one who is being rude, whereas the "victim" of rudeness is loved.
Can the awareness and practice of manners eliminate the Culture of Rudeness? This possibility could be entertained if rudeness were devalued. But we have a culture where people value rudeness (aka cleverness, quick-wittedness, sarcasm) and until the economic playing field is leveled and cultural divides bridged, I doubt rudeness will go out of fashion.
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