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The point is that politeness reminds the officer that you're a human being, like them, not the statistic that the author speaks of. On the other hand, if someon

The point is that politeness reminds the officer that you're a human being, like them, not the statistic that the author speaks of. On the other hand, if someone was rude to me and I were a cbp officer, I would certainly go the extra mile to stick it to them.

thaumaturgy 16y ago
> ...if someone was rude to me and I were a cbp officer, I would certainly go the extra mile to stick it to them. Precisely why you -- and most people -- shouldn't hold positions of authority over others.
- houseabsolute 16y ago
  Undoubtedly this is true, but it's also undoubtedly impractical. Check this out, it's even worse than you think: I'm not someone who really hungers for authority. I don't seek it out. Some people do, and I'd guess from my interactions with them that they have even more of this unfortunate trait than I do. Even without that, I doubt there are enough qualified people in the world who are completely lacking in vindictiveness to fill the positions of authority that have formed as a result of the grand accumulation of human interaction. So, bearing that in mind, it's typically best to be polite to people who can hurt you.
  - thwarted 16y ago
    Someone who wants to hurt you is going to do it independent of if you are polite it not.
    - rntz 16y ago
      True, but someone who just wants to hurt someone is going to pick on whoever stands out.
      - houseabsolute 16y ago
        More to the point, the degree to which any human wants to hurt another depends on their emotional state. Impoliteness tends to destabilize it's recipients' emotional state.
      - skorgu 16y ago
        Perhaps. Perhaps they will pick on the meeker instead of the stronger, the darker-skinned instead of the caucasian or the female instead of the male. Not all bullies are alike.
    - dgordon 16y ago
      But impoliteness can tip the scale.
- rikthevik 16y ago
  So who would you suggest should do this, or any, job that requires a position of authority?

thaumaturgy 16y ago

> ...if someone was rude to me and I were a cbp officer, I would certainly go the extra mile to stick it to them. Precisely why you -- and most people -- shouldn't hold positions of authority over others.

houseabsolute 16y ago
Undoubtedly this is true, but it's also undoubtedly impractical. Check this out, it's even worse than you think: I'm not someone who really hungers for authority. I don't seek it out. Some people do, and I'd guess from my interactions with them that they have even more of this unfortunate trait than I do. Even without that, I doubt there are enough qualified people in the world who are completely lacking in vindictiveness to fill the positions of authority that have formed as a result of the grand accumulation of human interaction. So, bearing that in mind, it's typically best to be polite to people who can hurt you.
- thwarted 16y ago
  Someone who wants to hurt you is going to do it independent of if you are polite it not.
  - rntz 16y ago
    True, but someone who just wants to hurt someone is going to pick on whoever stands out.
    - houseabsolute 16y ago
      More to the point, the degree to which any human wants to hurt another depends on their emotional state. Impoliteness tends to destabilize it's recipients' emotional state.
    - skorgu 16y ago
      Perhaps. Perhaps they will pick on the meeker instead of the stronger, the darker-skinned instead of the caucasian or the female instead of the male. Not all bullies are alike.
  - dgordon 16y ago
    But impoliteness can tip the scale.
rikthevik 16y ago
So who would you suggest should do this, or any, job that requires a position of authority?