Sometimes, such behavior goes beyond verbal abuse.A worker in a restaurant was slapped and cursed by a customer after she told him no table would be available for two hours.A man in the United States recently won damages for injuries suffered when he made a complaint about a woman for using bad language in her loud conversation.After being told to "get lost", he was beaten with an umbrella by the woman and punched by her companion.Utility crews in big cities report increasing violence from people who have complaints against the power company."Our repair crews have a rough time in some apartment houses where a lot of people live with relatively little space," says a utility company executive.That makes short tempers, and angry, rude behavior shows up.There is disagreement as to whether the situation is improving or not.Many see little hope for a decline in today's rude behavior.In fact, some see a new pattern emerging in big cities ― the "norm of non-involvement" as one psychologist calls it.Others are feeling more hopeful.For example, one international organization, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation,
