Certainly it's possible that some of the situations I've seen are of that type of origin - but IMO if you're interacting with a live human it's not an excuse. "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say.
I don't know, I see very little that could excuse the behavior. If someone is able to get into the store and conduct a transaction, then that person is generally able to acknowledge the person assisting him or her on a minimal level as a human.
> "I'm sorry , I just got terrible news" takes about two seconds to say.
But the wherewithal to do so in that circumstance is considerably less available!
I don't know that we've established that class actually paid a role. Do we expect he wasn't simply so oblivious that he'd also not have noticed a peer trying to get his attention?
We're already there, we just don't yet see it for what it is.
Yesterday I watched a man on the phone while paying for his goods at a convenience store. The cashier spoke to him several times, he completely ignored her in favor of his phone. He made no sign of apology, it was literally like she wasn't there for him.
And of course, she had to keep smiling because that is her place as a customer service provider.
It would be one thing if this were isolated, but (anecdotally, of course) I only see it increasing. We're already at that point where some, at least, fail to consider the working class around them at all.