The gentleman was tall, well dressed in leather jacket, casual slacks and polished shoes. Thick, gorgeous white hair and a self confident demeanour. He was leaning casually on the sign that tells patrons to ‘line up here’.
The bank has been undergoing repairs since a rain storm in the fall left serious damage. It meant that there is only one entrance and exit through one fairly wide door. Security officers are posted in the foyer, one at a time. The line ups have always been orderly, respecting the sign that tells us where to line up. Today was different with a clot of people just inside the door.
Another security officer arrived and I supposed it was shift change. The two officers came to the head of the line-up and politely asked the small group of people to move back behind the sign. The man I described became arrogant and rude - no gentleman. He confronted the officers and demanded to know why they wanted anyone to move. “What? Is it a security issue?” His tone of voice entitled and brash. When asked why he wouldn’t move: “I don’t like to be told what to do!”
Those words could have been someone being rude, so I ignored it. But when he said to the officers, both of another ethnicity: “This is a civilized country you know.” I felt embarrassed. Neither of the officers responded to his taunt. In fact, no one of the half dozen of us were drawn into his unpleasant behaviour. The little gathering was called to the tellers just then and the line moved on. We all got our business completed without further issues.
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
~ Winston S. Churchill
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