THE RUDE MAN AT THE SUPERMARKET - A Lesson About Human Nature

I went shopping last Friday. Just a normal day. I had my list, my small budget, and my earpiece in one ear. Nothing serious. I entered the supermarket and went straight to the provisions aisle. I was trying to pick between two brands of milk when I heard a loud voice behind me. "Madam, move na! Some of us don't have all day!"I turned. It was a man in his early 40s, well dressed, big phone in his hand, trolley half full. He was glaring at me like I had committed a crime for standing in front of the milk.I was shocked. I said, "Sorry sir," and moved my basket small.But that was just the beginning.At the next aisle, the same man was arguing with a young sales girl. She had told him that the bread he wanted had finished. Instead of understanding, he raised his voice."Do you know how much I spend here every week? Call your manager! You people are so incompetent! This is why this country will not progress!"The girl was almost in tears. She kept apologizing. People started staring. And in that moment, I saw something deeper than just rudeness. I saw a man who was fighting a battle that had nothing to do with bread. Human beings are interesting. We rarely react to what is in front of us. We react to what is inside us. That man was not angry about milk or bread. He was angry about life. Maybe his business was not going well. Maybe his wife had just disrespected him at home. Maybe he felt small somewhere and needed to feel big somewhere else. And the only place he could feel big was in front of a sales girl who could not answer him back.That is human nature.Many people walk around with invisible loads. Frustration from work, pressure from family, insecurity, failed dreams, heartbreak. And because they cannot pour it on the person who actually hurt them, they pour it on the next available person the waiter, the driver, the cashier, the stranger in the supermarket.Rudeness is often not about you. It is a cry for help. It is wounded ego looking for bandage.I also realized something else about human behaviour that day: How you treat people who cannot help you is your real character. Anyone can be nice to their boss. Anyone can smile at someone who has money. But how do you talk to the gateman? How do you speak to the cleaner? How do you respond when someone makes a small mistake?That is who you really are.I paid for my things and left. But the man remained in my mind. Not with anger, but with pity. Because I understood that kindness is not common, not because people are wicked, but because many people are hurting and have never been taught how to heal properly.But still, Be Kind to one another. “Hurt people hurt people. That's how pain patterns gets passed on, generation after generation after generation. Break the chain today. Meet anger with sympathy, contempt with compassion, cruelty with kindness. Greet grimaces with smiles. Forgive and forget about finding fault. Love is the weapon of the future.” — Yehuda Berg

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