"You open social media and read abuse either directed at yourself or someone else, then you get in your car and find yourself aggressively overtaken while driving at the speed limit. You pull into a shopping mall car park, where another driver executes a fast three-point turn to take your park, and then shouts a stream of abuse when you honk."
"If you are a person of extreme calm and equanimity, you may be able to let all this happen around you and remain unaffected. But for most of us, the selfish behaviour of others degrades our experience of being in the world. It can even provoke some of us to respond with anger worsening the situation and the general degraded atmosphere of our public spaces. Why go outside, more of us are thinking, when we could just stay at home and avoid the stress?"
Everyday encounters include social media abuse, aggressive driving, parking confrontations, damage from unattended trolleys, cinema disruptions, and airport and airplane rudeness. Examples include shouting at staff over carry-on fees, refusal to move for boarding, persistent phone use, reclining seats for entire short flights, and failure to wait when disembarking. These cumulative acts of selfishness degrade public spaces and provoke anger in others, worsening atmospheres and reducing patience. The escalation of such behaviour is driving some people to avoid public outings. Australia's Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association reported in December 2025 a staggering shift and a surge in violence.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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