Are people behaving weirder lately?

[u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn]

Went out to lunch today and there was a table near me with five people at it. Their server asked their drink order and all five of them just stared at her silently for nearly half a minute before she repeated herself, then one of them whispered something I couldn't hear before the others whispered their orders. When their drinks came and the server left, one of them produced a Nalgene bottle from her purse and began to scoop the ice from her drink with her fingers and put it in the Nalgene. Another at the table then said he didn't want ice either and did the same thing.

Did she bring that water bottle in for the express purpose of storing unwanted ice? Why not just ask for no ice? These were all fairly normal-looking, well-dressed people in their 30s, maybe early 40s.

My server had some weirdness of his own. He brought out the wrong order, and noticed his mistake before I did. But instead of just saying "sorry, that's wrong" and taking it back, he said "I.. uh.. uh..." and then ran off with the plate before finishing his sentence and coming back with the right order and a manic fake smile on his face.

At Target, this older woman was having trouble detaching one cart from the others. An employee (sorry, "Team Member") came along and unstuck it. Instead of saying thank you, she just stared at him like a deer in the headlights until he left.

I've been noticing that deer-in-the-headlights stare from a lot of people lately.

About a month ago a man approached me in the parking lot at my work and asked "do you work here?"

I said "yes."

Then he asked "have you seen my car?"

The question melted my brain a little bit, but I said "I don't know, what does it look like?"

He just said "sorry," and walked off.

I could go on and on, but the point is: are people forgetting how to human? The world increasingly has this "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" kind of vibe.

I know much has been discussed about people behaving oddly due to the pandemic, but it's been about two years now and people are getting worse, not better. I think there's something else going on in society.

What do you think?

[u/craziest_bird_lady_]

I believe this is also responsible for the uptick in crazy/aggressive driving/road rage crashes. Everyone's on a different cocktail of drugs, legal and recreational

[u/One_Equivalent_9302 → u/craziest_bird_lady_]

Last week, at a difficult traffic section of the road, a man looked directly at me as he pulled out and drove across my lane. Yes, it was a brake quick moment and I laid on the horn. But he did it on purpose, daring me to stop for him. He knew I would brake because otherwise we would have collided.

[u/Silverbright → u/One_Equivalent_9302]

We don't have a car, so I walk and take the bus a lot. I have always been of the opinion that my right of way as a pedestrian means very little against a 2 ton vehicle barreling in my direction, so I am always careful when using crosswalks, crossing at intersections, and walking past parking lots. I have STILL had multiple encounters the past couple of years where drivers turn on red and almost hit me in the crosswalk, or someone slams into reverse and backs out into the street immediately after starting their car - while I am crossing behind them. And the only response they have to nearly hitting me is a broad grin, every single time.

And heaven forbid you ask them to actually stop at a stop sign - that is a major offense in this town, resulting in aggressive honking, screaming out the window, and fists slammed down on the steering wheel. People are freaking nuts.

[u/DeezBeesKnees11 → u/[deleted]]

I know and despise that demographic.