Decent manners

To blame the breakdown of family life on television and technology is just the tip of the iceberg. These days, with many households needing both parents working to bring in a decent wage, their offspring have been left to their own devices.

My top five gripes match those of Mr Thomas - spitting, urinating in public, bad language, people putting their feet on public transport seats and littering. I would add one extra, which is the anti-social behaviour of all generations today.

I was taught from early childhood to take my litter home. These days it seems normal to open a car window and empty the contents of the ash tray while still travelling. I saw a school youth squash a drinks can and drop it, not in the litter bin a few inches away, but on the pavement.

At one time it was considered polite to offer your seat to someone standing but I can understand why children no longer do this. I saw a young person give up his seat to a person who grumbled, "I should think so too", while at the same time the child's peers mocked their friend's kind act. It's not just young people that have bad manners.

As a child, I was taught to call close friends and neighbours Aunty or Uncle and other adults as Mr or Mrs. And woe betide us if we didn't use our manners. We got a clip round the ear and told not to be cheeky.

One does not need to guess how spitting became a pastime for some and a competition to others. Watch any football match and see the players spitting and mouthing bad language.

Etiquette may be long dead and buried but there is a level of decency that we should all aspire to.

-Mrs Mary White, Portslade