d Om

 

e Always say thank you to bus drivers

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¢ Girl, please: A follow-up
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e ...and more!

Girl, please:
A follow-up

>» Sure, manners matter, but they
shouldn't be expected all the time

Jess Berget
Opinions Editor

thing to say to someone, but I’m not going
to expect to hear it every time. It’s aword
that sounds too aggressively polite to me.
I'll say it once in a while if the mood is
right, but I don't feel it's always necessary.
Sure, it’s pleasant to hear “please”
sometimes, but generally I don’t mind
not hearing it either. Honestly, it doesn’t

 

eing the editor of the Opinions section,

Lalways knew my works would be
subject to criticisms and people would
disagree with some (okay, most) of the
things I write about. However, I never

thought my piece on my dislike of the word
“please” would be the straw that broke the
camel’s back.

Evidently, people are more passionate

make a whiff of a difference to me whether
someone says “please” or not. As long as
they ask nicely “Could you do this for me?”
I’m happy. I'd be glad to help a person out

 

Always say
thank you to the
bus drivers

>» They work hard every day and they
deserve our appreciation

Jess Berget
Opinions Editor

 

have a lot of ways in which I judge

people’s character based on what I
observe. Are they nice to the cashiers or
servers? Do they love animals? And most
importantly, do they thank the bus driver
before getting off the bus? If the answer
is “no” to that last one, consider why you
should be showing thanks to the person
behind the wheel who gets you to school or
work almost every day.

TransLink may have its faults (and
that’s a lot of faults), but the person
driving the bus shouldn't have to work a
thankless job just because most people
hate the company they work for. It must
be extremely stressful and tiring to have to
drive a bus full of people all day, every day.
It is the driver's duty and responsibility to
get you to your destination safely, and we
should all be grateful for them. Without
bus drivers, where would we be?

Sure, your bus might come late, it
might stink, it might be full of people
forcing you to stand, clinging for dear life
onto those useless rubber holders they put
on the metal bars. You could have the worst
bus ride of your entire life, but it’s still

if I can, and I don’t need to hear “please”

to be inclined to do so, but that’s just me. I
also think “thank you” is necessary in some
situations, but not all the time.

“Please” is a frivolous word. I don’t
understand why it’s considered polite to
say it but impolite to omit it. I’m essentially
asking for the same thing, so what does it
matter if there is one pointless word in my
sentence or not? On another note, I think
it’s incredibly rude to call people out on it if
they don’t say it.

The next time you find yourself getting
upset that someone didn’t say “please”
when asking for something, ask yourself: Is
it really worth getting mad about one silly
word? I don't think so. So, stop expecting
people to say it all the time.

Please?

about manners and politeness than I
thought. I didn’t even think this opinion
was so contentious until I talked about it
with other people and they were offended
that I believe it. After debating the subject
with others, I feel the need to clarify my
stance.

Sure, manners do matter. Holding
the door open for someone matters.
Saying thank you when someone does
something for you matters. Saying please
or thank you every single time you ask
someone to do something, that does not
matter, It’s something that should be nice
to say once in awhile, but we shouldn't
expect it constantly. In addition, I think if
these words are overused, they lose their
meaning.

I would agree that “please” is a nice

important to thank the bus driver before
you leave. Just because you had a bad
experience doesn't mean they don’t deserve
to be shown some appreciation. They work
hard so that you can get to where you need
to go.

Just think, maybe you had a bad day
ora bad bus ride, but the bus driver didn’t
do anything to contribute to it (unless they
were specifically being a dick to you, which
can sometimes be the case). It’s possible
they don't realize they're being mean
because they are also having a bad day. I’m
sure uttering a simple “Thank you!” before
exiting the bus makes all the difference to
them. I know in my experience of working
ina coffee shop, having a friendly customer
who showed their gratitude made dealing
with all the rude customers a bit less
painful.

Also, think of all the crap bus drivers
have to deal with on a daily basis. Traffic,
pedestrians, violence (physical and verbal),
rude, drunk, high, and sometimes batshit
crazy passengers are all in a day’s work for
these people—and on top of that, they
have to be on time for the next group of —— ee
riders waiting for the bus. Next time you're aaa. =
on the bus, thank the driver, even if they
were a little late.

 

a

Photo by Jacey Gibb