Etiquette in the News

The town of Middleborough, Massachusetts is now debating a $20 fine for people in their town caught swearing or using obscenities in public. Do you approve of this approach? Or, would the old-fashioned approach of washing out the offenders mouth with soap and water (or, for a modern twist, hot sauce) be more appropriate? Or, should we just hope and expect that people will use their freedom of speech responsibly and appropriately, so that our police officers can focus on more life-and-death matters?

In sports, we continue to see both good and bad etiquette, sometimes by the same player within a span of minutes. In the French Open Tennis finals, we saw tennis great Djokovic graciously overturn a bad call by a line judge on one point, and then smash his tennis racket through a wall on another.

In entertainment, Charlie Sheen is as disturbing as ever, this time getting into an altercation after leaving an arena. He left to have a smoke outside and then was refused re-entry (his ticket clearly stated"no re-entry"). He felt that he was entitled to break the rules, and acted out accordingly.

At a mall, a mom attacked a child who had posted nasty comments on Facebook about her teenage daughter. It seems her daughter had posted a photo of her posterior on Facebook, and her classmates were making jokes about it. Should teens even have Facebook accounts?

All of this shows that -- on the one hand -- our society is more and more focused on proper behavior and etiquette. That's great news! On the other hand, the need for etiquette training continues to be strong.

At Image Savvy, there are all sorts of issues that we address when teaching etiquette, from the messages celebrities send to new ways of communicating and connecting like Facebook, to teaching youth and young adults how to be more successful, including how to dress and groom for entry-level jobs and beyond.

Are you like me and see etiquette issues where ever you go? Do you care deeply about and value etiquette in society.

If you agree, let us help you and those you love be the difference that our society needs.  

For more information on our programs, please contact 803-372-4041.