'Excuse me, I'm not done!': Shopper gets even with impatient customer behind him, takes his sweet time, causing her to throw tantrum

Do people not know how to behave in grocery stores anymore? No one is necessarily expecting kind-hearted gestures as they sift through a display of vegetables. No one is even expecting friendliness. You don't have to talk to me if we pass one another as we push our carts down the aisle. That being said, you do have to respect people's personal space, at the very least.

This author's story of an elderly woman who couldn't help but rush the other shoppers at checkout serves as yet another example of the lack of decorum that exists in our public spaces today. Whatever happened to minding your own business and waiting your turn like a normal person? It's hard not to blame this shift in civility on our increasingly isolated lifestyles. After all, so many folks maintain the majority of their social relationships through their phones and electronic devices. Behaving in public with strangers seems to be a lost art nowadays.

At the same time, a crucial component of this elderly woman's behavior, which also has shown signs of growth among folks of all generations in our contemporary culture, is entitlement. This woman wanted to pay for her groceries now and had no desire to wait like everyone else. In fact, she seemed to feel that she had earned the right to cut in line and throw a tantrum. Who knows if it's because of her age? As a matter of fact, it might not have anything to do with age at all. Some people are just like this. They walk into rooms like they own the place, and they lack any consideration for other people. I wish I could say this author's story exists in a vacuum, but I have dealt with people like this on public transit, in doctors' waiting rooms, and yes, at my own local grocery store.