Montana Town Says “Think Before You Speak” and “Be Kind”

This world has become more full of hate in the last couple of years than I have seen in the 37 years I have been on this planet. It's pretty sad. I remember when I was growing up, we had the counselor come in and talk about bullying and using kind words.

I learned then, at a young age, that "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". So the fact that we have to go over this again, to adults, is really disappointing.

When I hear adults being completely ridiculous at the checkout, or in line for an event, or any situation where a little patience is needed, it makes me think, "do you act like this in front of your kids?". I can't help but feel embarrassed for the child and the adult, that they are that blind to their actions.

Billings has seen so much negativity in the last few months that they actually came up with a campaign and are hanging flyers in different businesses throughout the community. The "Be Kind" campaign has hopes of gently reminding people that they don't need to be completely rude to the worker in front of them.

They are just here to do a job, and I don't believe when they applied to work as a bank teller, a gate attendant, or any other position that involves "customer service", they thought they would have to be verbally assaulted on a daily basis.

And no, I do not think these workers are "weak" or being "babies" or other terms some keyboard warriors like to use. Just take a minute and think, "would I want someone talking to my daughter, or son, or mother, etc. this way?" If the answer is NO, then make sure you're not being a hypocrite.

Back in the day when we would go to rent a movie from Blockbuster on VHS, there was a sticker, and that sticker said, "Please Be Kind, Rewind". What did we do? We would rewind the tape.

Your words are powerful and you can not take them back. Remember that the next time you feel frustrated with the worker in front of you that didn't sign up to be your therapist or your target. Be Kind.