Anger is a common emotion.
We all feel irritated or angry at things — the driver who cuts us off in traffic, the person who butts in line at the grocery store, the neighbour whose noisy parties keep you awake.
But feelings and actions are two entirely different things. While we may feel angry, we have a choice about how to react to our emotions.
This brings us to the disgraceful way some people treat others, especially those working in service positions.
Upon being told that he had arrived past the operating hours at our local landfill, a local man appears to have let his emotions overrule common sense, decency or respect for others.
Yes, this might have been a frustrating situation. But did it deserve becoming so incensed that you would resort to violence, ramming a gate with your vehicle and in the process injuring an employee, who was simply performing her job?
Absolutely not.
This is not the first case we have heard about abuses to service workers. A flagger get the finger, a bank teller gets spit on when declining to cash a cheque, a server gets food thrown on them when a customer doesn’t appreciate the quality.
It makes us wonder how some people can feel so entitled to treat others with such disrespect and plain bad manners. Even a kindergarten student knows this is not an appropriate way to behave. Remember that the next time you feel ready to lash out. It could save you from consequences like arrests or assault charges.
But it is also simply the right thing to do.