<p>The responses on this thread are facinating:</p>
<p>Jewish and Catholic members are, like me, shocked or offended.</p>
<p>The Megachurches, seeing a business opportunity, install in-pew cupholders.</p>
<p>This apparently explains how these churches can afford the jumbotrons.</p>
<p>I don’t consider this a “low”, but because someone mentioned Christmas Eve services, I’ll tell this story. A few years ago, our church decided to start a ministry to Chinese immigrants to our city. Before the 11pm Christmas Eve service, a large group of Chinese folks came in and sat together near us. (Okay, we were the only non-Chinese people in the balcony.) They all had water bottles and programs in Mandarin. They took pictures and video throughout the entire service and were delighted when the lights were dimmed and the candles were lit. Although it wasn’t the quiet, contemplative service that it usually is, it was a neat (but noisy) experience. It was pretty clear that many had never been to a Christian church service before.</p>
<p>It seems the only thing that should be found offensive is the cursing, unless you thought it was rude not to share. What if he had pulled out a bottle of blood pressure pills, that he obviously takes since he is a large man, and sent them scattering on the floor? Offended?</p>
<p>There are obviously vastly different views of appropriate behavior (and while we’re at it, dress) in synagogue/church, sometimes even among members of the same body.</p>
<p>Why is the description of the man as large of importance here? Lack of self control perhaps? Pills scattering on the floor? Necessary to maintain health. MandM’s? not so much. </p>
<p>I will admit to slipping a few candies to my kids when they were little. I would pass them one or two at a time when they reached four minutes of good behavior. But then again my parents went to a synagogue MANY years ago (first and last time). On Yom Kippur the rabbi announced that it was 1 o’clock and they were taking a break for lunch.</p>
<p>My MIL has a bit (maybe more than a bit) of dementia…she has lost her filter (if she ever had one.) Now when she sees people doing or wearing something she deems inappropriate for church, she tells them!</p>
<p>Having been raised Catholic, where you sit quietly before Mass begins, I was surprised at the chatting and socializing that went on before the service in my Protestant husband’s church.</p>
<p>I was always quiet in church, but not necessarily well-behaved. I vividly remember one Mass when I was wearing a white scarf that had fuzzies on it. I spent the whole Mass picking off the fuzzies and dropping them on the pew in front of me, because the woman in front of me had a navy blue boucle skirt that picked them up beautifully. </p>
<p>Heh heh heh. </p>
<p>I got in a lot of trouble for that.</p>
<p>There was one time during the communion service when a member of the parish with a mild mental deficiency gave us all a good laugh. We celebrate communion in the pews, with everyone holding the elements until all are served, so that we partake together.</p>
<p>After the words “take and drink” she stood up, raised her little cup high in the air and loudly said “cheers!”.</p>
<p>We have a number of intellectually challenged members or people with mental illnesses, and have learned to take them in stride. One teenage girl liked to be lector (read scriptures) and would frequently give a weather report or some other odd commentary before finally opening her Bible.</p>
<p>Them, we can tolerate lovingly. Rude people, not so much.</p>
<p>My kids have been raised Catholic, but once we were visiting my parents and went to the “contemporary” service at their Protestant church. The Pastor conducted the service wearing a polo shirt and khakis. My teens were aghast - my son said, “Can he DO that?” </p>
<p>As for food in a worship service, I’ve been known to bring a small baggie of Cheerios for a toddler. But that’s it. A grown man munching handfuls of M&Ms? And giving them to a 10 year old? In my experience, that’s inappropriate and disrespectful.</p>
<p>Based on the title of this thread
I thought this was a thread about Miley Cyrus. But then I realized she’s already got her own thread.</p>
<p>I was willing to maybe give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that maybe it was a medical condition ( low blood sugar) that required the sugar but the M&Ms/oreos aren’t usually the first line of treatment and a sucking candy can be taken discreetly and without causing a distraction…
Don’t get me started on the way people dress now in synagogue/church/places of wirship…</p>
<p>Kkmama, I really enjoyed your stories. Thanks for sharing. The cheers one was hilarious.</p>
<p>A woman sat next to me on the express bus on Tuesday. She opened and ate a ham, egg, onion and cheese sandwich. Then she scratched off about a dozen lottery tickets and got the debris all over me.</p>
<p>There is a regular rider on the bus who hobbles and moans her way up the steps with her cane and demads any female passenger vacate a particular seat for her. Never male passengers. If someone dares to sit next to her, she leans all over them and elbows them while playing candy crush. She recently got into a slapping fight with another woman. I was sympathetic until the day I got a ride to the bus and came from the other direction and saw her bounce down the steps of her house and cruise to the bus stop with the cane under her arm. I went by her house the next day and, sure enough, she is scamming.</p>
<p>Speaking of public transportation, my son’s friend who attends college in NYC just posted this on Facebook:</p>
<p>“There is a special place in hell for people who fart on the subway.”</p>
<p>This happened to me on Tuesday- my first time riding the buses in Ann Arbor: </p>
<p>A girl sat next to me on the bus and proceeded to put her backpack IN MY LAP and put her books (two small books) on hers. I thought maybe she was a freshman and flustered and just didn’t realize what she did- no big deal. I waited about a minute and then handed it back to her (thinking she forgot it). She looked at me, huffed, and rolled her eyes. She proceeded to shoot me dirty looks for the next 5 minutes until I got off the bus. WHAT?! </p>
<p>My faith in humanity was restored the next day when I saw three separate young men offer their seats to older women (but certainly not elderly- maybe 40s or 50s- so it’s not like they were doing it as a way to hit on a young woman).</p>
<p>Even though I am not religious and came from a non-religious family, I was raised to be respectful in Churches, Synagogues, or other religious buildings. Unless the religious group in question okays the food in services, it was assumed one shouldn’t consume food/drinks during that time. </p>
<p>As for reading newspapers during services that’s rude regardless. Granted, I may be biased as during my stint as a substitute instructor for a friend’s community college course, I had to pointedly ask some front row students to put away their newspapers because they were blocking the view of other students. </p>
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<p>No one who values their property or possibly their physical safety/life would do that in NYC…especially back when I was growing up there in the '80s. </p>
<p>The few times I saw it happen usually ended up in the offender having his/her stuff stomped on, tossed out the subway/bus, and/or being subjected to some slaps/physical beatings by the one subjected to having the bag dumped on his/her lap.</p>
<p>While this reaction is much less likely since the late '90s, I’ve still seen/heard of instances of property being tossed/stomped on for similar incidents more recently. Much more rarer now and subway riders aren’t nearly as on edge/prone to anger/craziness compared with ones from my middle school/early HS years. </p>
<p>Then again, I have noticed more subway passengers openly counting large sums of cash within the last 10 years. No one with any sense would have done that 15+ years ago.</p>
<p>In an airplane seatback pocket, I could see though the mesh panel that someone had thrown away their used, bristle-head dental floss pick. I actually did post a zoomed-in photo of it and asked my Facebook friends if they had seen a lower LOW than this on a plane.</p>
<p>Then I discovered recently on CC that there are much worse things disposed of in seatback pockets.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1550023-vomit-airplane-sorry-i-know-its-gross.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1550023-vomit-airplane-sorry-i-know-its-gross.html</a></p>
<p>Huh, cobrat, I didn’t really realize this was such a common occurrence that you’d be able to see trends over the last 20 years of people’s reactions. </p>
<p>You also seem to be drawn to individuals with extreme behaviors.</p>
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<p>Street violence over far less impositions than your encounter with the bag dumper…or none due to the mental state/aggressive tendencies of the ones acting/reacting were somewhat commonplace in many parts of NYC in the 1980’s and to some extent…into the early '90s. </p>
<p>Most long-time NYC residents from the late '60s till the early '90s would have seen similar or worse things than I have depending on frequency of taking public transit, borough/neighborhoods, and/or happenstance.</p>
<p>RGE, when I was in Ann Arbor it was standard procedure for people to hold others’ belongings on their laps. It was SOP when a person didn’t get a seat, that someone with a seat just reached up and put the stander’s stuff on their lap. It was so routine that no one ever asked - if you had a seat you just automatically held stuff for people who were standing. Once in a while I did see people distribute stuff if they had a seat but too much stuff to carry, but that was unusual. </p>
<p>As you ride the buses more, I’d be interested in knowing if that tradition still exists. I thought it was wonderful. </p>
<p>But times change. So much in fact that I remember back then being outraged when 2 medical students near me were discussing the medical condition of a patient - using his full name! Back then it was legal (but I thought it was poor practice). Nowadays they’d be in serious deep doo doo.</p>