So long as we’re goal-setting and blank-slating going into the next decade, it’s as good a time as any to reconsider some long-lasting rules of etiquette.
A lot of things we do out of some hazy sense of politeness are often illogical or even counterproductive. Here are three manners we should drop as we head into 2020 and beyond:
1. Declining to alert a person who has bad breath. If you were in any casual setting and saw a friend, colleague, or acquaintance who didn’t seem to realize that he was bleeding from a cut on his head, you would rightfully tell him, “Hey, it looks like something happened to you right there. You should clean it up and maybe have it checked out by a doctor.”
Why, then, shouldn’t we feel equally obligated to inform an individual that there’s something wrong with his oral care? This is especially true regarding the mistakable scent of gum disease or tooth decay. At that point, it’s a medical issue, not merely a cosmetic one.
2. Knocking on locked restroom doors. There is no circumstance where it makes sense to attempt entering a public restroom, find that it’s locked, and then proceed to knock on the door. If it’s locked, then it is occupied. In the event that it’s locked but not occupied, then there’s still no way to enter because it is still locked.
But assuming it is occupied, it serves no purpose to provoke the person using the facility to respond to a knock. When the person is finished with the restroom, that person will exit at that time.
3. Shaking hands. Physical human contact is important, probably even necessary for survival and general psychological wellness. The handshake is a nice gesture, but it’s not the most sanitary. Sadly, not everyone washes their hands after using the restroom. Not everyone thinks it’s necessary to clean their palms after pumping gas. Not everyone is worried about any germs they may pick up from the door handles they pull and push throughout the day.
As an alternative, I suggest we adopt a simple and firm but friendly grasp of the upper arm when greeting one another — Roman-style, except a bit higher up.
