Nothing quite captures the essence of modern rudeness like someone trying to have a conversation with you while actively talking to someone else on their phone. It’s like being invited to a three-way conversation where you’re the only one who doesn’t know what’s happening. They’ll look at you expectantly, gesture wildly, mouth words like you’re supposed to be reading lips, and then get annoyed when you don’t understand their elaborate charades routine.
“Hold on,” they’ll say to their phone, then turn to you with that look that says you’re interrupting THEM. “What did you need?” As if you’re the one who walked up and started a conversation while they were clearly busy. You’ll start to explain something, and halfway through your sentence they’re back to their phone call: “No, sorry, I was talking to someone else. What were you saying about the thing?”
The thing? THE THING? You were in the middle of explaining a work emergency, and now it’s just “the thing.” Meanwhile, you’re standing there like an idiot, wondering if you should just walk away or wait for them to finish discussing their lunch plans with whoever’s more important than the human physically standing in front of them. It’s like being put on hold in your own life.
