lets me just start by saying that this is not an attack against politeness. I like people saying please, thank you, and holding doors open when you are behind them. What I am talking about is the English penchant for many of the people who do those nice things going uncomfortably overboard with them.
I'm not sure whether I have lived away from the UK for too long or if is a reasonably recent cultural development, but in the last 6 months each time I come back to Old Blighty for work I am noticing the following:
1) People standing there and waiting to hold open the door for you when you are about 20-30m behind them. You then feel obliged to do a quickstep and hurry up to get through asap, or stay at the same pace and watching them fill your vision for the next 10 agonisingly slow seconds, waiting expectantly. What happened to taking a look behind, making a snap judgement on how close someone is, and then if too far just going through the door and letting them open it themselves? Common sense, please. I may try walking slower and seeing what happens.
2) Letting other people through a door. In theory this is also nice when done properly. However, that is until you get the type of person that feels they have to wave you through even when you have first visibly stopped to let them through. What then follows is a "no, you first", "no, please, you" until someone finally relents. Is it a politeness competition? Most gentlemanly award? I cringe inwardly each time.
3) SAYING SORRY FOR EVERYTHING. Seriously, it is starting to drive me up the wall being apologised to around thirty times per day. Someone has to pass by within 1 metre of you in the office? "Sorry". Someone reaches for something that you are not even in the way of? "Sorry". And what makes me laugh even more is that some people combine this into one epic: "sorrycheersthanks". Yes... sorry, cheers, and thanks. All blended into one catch-all word describing every possible feeling that could be evoked by their actions.
So, in summary... politeness is good, but this faux-over politeness that people seem to do without knowing why, thus creating socially awkward situations is really causing me to scratch my head and wonder what is going on. Do us Brits have an ingrained sense of social anxiety about not appearing polite enough? Do we (those that are actually polite) try too hard when doing so? Have we just lost the ability to make good common sense decisions in the burgeoning wave of uber-PC mania washing over our society?
One thing I can say for sure that in the countries I have lived or worked in, this is pretty unique to Britain. Other countries don't over-think it to the borderline obsession we display, they just do it (or not, as the case my be) according to their own instinctive levels of common sense and things just aren't awkward.
Answers on a postcard please, as well as any funny stories or observations you have from your own experience.
I'm not sure whether I have lived away from the UK for too long or if is a reasonably recent cultural development, but in the last 6 months each time I come back to Old Blighty for work I am noticing the following:
1) People standing there and waiting to hold open the door for you when you are about 20-30m behind them. You then feel obliged to do a quickstep and hurry up to get through asap, or stay at the same pace and watching them fill your vision for the next 10 agonisingly slow seconds, waiting expectantly. What happened to taking a look behind, making a snap judgement on how close someone is, and then if too far just going through the door and letting them open it themselves? Common sense, please. I may try walking slower and seeing what happens.
2) Letting other people through a door. In theory this is also nice when done properly. However, that is until you get the type of person that feels they have to wave you through even when you have first visibly stopped to let them through. What then follows is a "no, you first", "no, please, you" until someone finally relents. Is it a politeness competition? Most gentlemanly award? I cringe inwardly each time.
3) SAYING SORRY FOR EVERYTHING. Seriously, it is starting to drive me up the wall being apologised to around thirty times per day. Someone has to pass by within 1 metre of you in the office? "Sorry". Someone reaches for something that you are not even in the way of? "Sorry". And what makes me laugh even more is that some people combine this into one epic: "sorrycheersthanks". Yes... sorry, cheers, and thanks. All blended into one catch-all word describing every possible feeling that could be evoked by their actions.
So, in summary... politeness is good, but this faux-over politeness that people seem to do without knowing why, thus creating socially awkward situations is really causing me to scratch my head and wonder what is going on. Do us Brits have an ingrained sense of social anxiety about not appearing polite enough? Do we (those that are actually polite) try too hard when doing so? Have we just lost the ability to make good common sense decisions in the burgeoning wave of uber-PC mania washing over our society?
One thing I can say for sure that in the countries I have lived or worked in, this is pretty unique to Britain. Other countries don't over-think it to the borderline obsession we display, they just do it (or not, as the case my be) according to their own instinctive levels of common sense and things just aren't awkward.
Answers on a postcard please, as well as any funny stories or observations you have from your own experience.
I'm a very bad person! 
