What do you think accounts for the rise in incivility?

[haele]

122. The habit of instant gratification and the increased ability to compartmentalize life.

Nowdays, you can pretty much ignore anyone you don't want to include in your personal reality at a shallow, reactive level - live in a bubble where there is actually very little to do, since everything - and everyone - has "a price tag", and is pretty much disposable once purchased. That includes intellectual property, health, charity, friends, family...
There is always someone who has more purchasing power, and they end up in the front of the line.
Reality bubbles, instant gratification and everything "owned" equals passively cynical self-interest, and anger when one can't get what one wants.

So the average person may feel a disadvantage in get along with other people or consider their well-being or the world around them when they act - and even if they did act in a more expansive manner, there's always someone else out there playing a bully's game with them to get what little there is left.

The question really is - Where does the line between incivility and self-defense from aggressive bullies lie?
Is it uncivil to call a bully a bully? Is it uncivil to act in self-preservation?

Haele