we generally want to treat each other, friends and strangers alike, as we would want to be treated. if someone has it a little tougher than you, maybe even go a little overboard to be extra nice ...you know, because you're such an ace of a human. however, there seem to be certain situations where maybe being slightly rude is a decent idea. say, for example, you're on the phone with a customer service representative from a credit card company. why would you be rude to them? they have a crappy job, and they're probably in a spot in their life where that is the best they can do. they could use a little extra compassion. right, but don't you want their life to be better? when you're trying to say "no, thank you. don't want to take advantage of any introductory offers" and they keep plowing through their sales pitch without any regard for your time. "...a low introductory offer of 0.9 percent, and within that time if..." "hello, my house is on fire. i need to hang up" "...at which point, the interest on the account will be transferred..." "now i'm on fire!" and so on. isn't it better to interject (even though it feels rude and you can sense them shaking their head and thinking, "this is my life. this is how i provide for my children ...who i'm stuck with. all alone. just me. looking out for these little jerks with virtually no education. and this is the only job i can get, and people hang up on me all day.") so that they will want to get a better job? so they'll want to get something better. they can look back and think, "at least i don't have assholes hanging up on me all day now." if you're not being somewhat rude, you're really just enabling that poor person to stay in a horrible spot in life. you monster.