People can be such bitchfaces...

So I was in the bank today, cashing a check. I waited in line, as the lady in front of me completed her transaction, and then for the cashier to call me over as the next customer. As she was about halfway out of the lobby, the lady sneezed, quite violently. "Bless you" I said, in an effort to be friendly. "No thanks" she grumbled, pausing just long enough for me to wonder if I had heard that correctly before adding, "I'll be just fine." Without once even looking back to acknowledge me, she walked out of the bank.

Ok. So the point of this entry is, what a bitch. I am still trying to figure out what exactly could be the motivation for rudeness. My guess is that is it some form of disgust with religion in general (and probably G. W. Bush related). But really, saying "bless you" when someone sneezes is as much a push of theology onto the person as asking them "what's up" is an inquiry as to what is above them.

I looked up the origins of saying "bless you", and found basically that it was undetermined, but all probably suggestions boil down to two basic ideas. Either sneezing is bad so the other person is wishing them better luck, or sneezing is a good omen, so the other person is congratulation them. (For more on the origins of "bless you", snoops.com gives a pretty good breakdown.)

The point of this rant is this: I understand that a lot of people are annoyed at the relationship of church and state in this country right now. There are things about that that annoy me too, even as a practicing Christian. There are lots of gray areas (and not so gray areas) being pushed by our leadership. BUT, that is no excuse to be rude or hateful to people. It probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but simple human kindness can go a long way.

I'm going to end this before I get all sappy, but be nice to people. Or I'll kick your ass.