Etiquette queen June Dally-Watkins says Aussie manners an utter disgrace

[Feuer Frei!]

Agree.

MODERN-day Aussies have completely forgotten their manners - with swearing, tardy dressing and shoddy eating habits all the "norm". So says etiquette queen June Dally-Watkins, who fears the nation is fast slipping into a state of moral disrepair.
She said while "formal" had its heyday in the '50s, the refined customs of a bygone era should still hold a place in modern society.
"I am concerned the human race is slipping back to the heathen era and it disappoints me," said Ms Dally-Watkins, who is in the midst of writing her book, Manner For Moderns: Be The Best You Can Be - In Every Way.
"Even little things like remembering to say 'thank you' and 'please' are slipping away."
She said our dependence on technology - the ease of text messaging, emailing, and communicating on Facebook - had spoilt face-to-face communication and made us increasingly unaware of others.

"I see people texting at the dinner table and walking down the street sending messages, causing other people to dodge out of their way," she said.
"People would rather send a simple email than handwrite a letter of appreciation."
When it comes to the death of chivalry, Ms Dally-Watkins blames feminist Germaine Greer.
"Men and women were once courteous to each other, and then along came Germaine Greer, who said women should be more like men," she said.
Ms Dally-Watkins also fears young people are learning nothing but bad habits.
She said families are increasingly eating separately, which impacts table manners.
The way women dress today also makes her blood boil.
"There is nothing more inappropriate than shorts ... especially short shorts. Some ways of dressing ... give the impression of 'I'm yours, take me'," she said.

Associate professor Penny Russell, of Sydney University's history department, agreed many social etiquettes of the 19th century have been lost, such as hand-shaking rules, wearing hats and dressing for dinner.
"Etiquette books from the 19th century advise not to talk about your private affairs in a loud voice on the tram," said Ms Russell, who published a book about manners last year, titled Savage Or Civilised: Manners In Colonial Australia.
"We talk loudly on mobile phones on public transport with no concern for other's space."
But she did note some manners the younger generation have gained.
"I think there are some fascinating new rituals growing up around how to manage social networking online," Ms Russell said.
"Young people today have got a really strong sense of the codes of manners that work amongst their peers."

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