Who would have thought it?

This article is from an online magazine, Tangle, I subscribe to.  He writes about his hope for decency to return. Perhaps talking face-to-face will bring out the humanity we used to see in each other. Hope to heal the divide in our country. I’m Isaac Saul, and this is Tangle If I had told you in 2020 that shopping malls would make a comeback, you probably would have laughed in my face. And rightly so. Online shopping has been growing for years as its convenience, ease, and value have become too hard to pass up. To a new generation of shoppers, the experience of going out to a brick-and-mortar store to try on clothing or test out a new vacuum seemed silly and archaic — why waste that kind of time at a mall when you could have someone show up at your door with your order and then just return it if you didn’t like it, often free of cost? COVID-19 only increased that value and accelerated the death of America’s malls. Yet, today, malls are making a comeback — and with the group you’d least suspect: 18- to 24-year-olds. That’s right, the Gen Z kids are so tired of interacting entirely in digital spaces that they’ve started to return to shopping malls, finding pleasure in the same exact thing older generations did: the social experience of hanging out with your friends outside of the house. This cohort made 62% of their general merchandise purchases in-person last year, 10% more than shoppers aged 25 and older. And overall foot traffic at malls was up 4.5% in the first two months of this year compared to last. I think the resurgence of U.S. malls is emblematic of the human experience. A little bit of anything can be fun, refreshing, cathartic, or even exhilarating. But a lot of something — say, eight hours of screen time a day — can start to feel pretty crappy.  The same is true in the political arena, where obscenity feels like it has become the norm. But this cycle of change suggests decency might make a comeback. When I say “decency,” I mean the quality of behaving in a polite, honest, and moral manner that is anchored by courteous behavior and treating others with respect.

I am happy to hear that young people like malls and enjoy hanging out there with their friends. In this country, we are much too quick to leave behind the familiar and jump to whatever is new or is proclaimed as new and better. Having lived a few decades past when folks hung out at the mall food court or spent an afternoon shopping with a friend there, I remember how much I enjoyed it. 

I remember the time when a business did not have to hang signs that said, "We do not accept disrespect toward our staff." "Please do not use offensive language here."

I remember the first time I heard the F word in public from a stranger. I was at a parade in Albany, GA, my hometown. A young man in the crowd was speaking loudly. You could not fail to hear him, and he was using that word over and over. Others in the crowd were looking at him as if he had come from another planet. I only saw that language written on restroom walls in elementary school.

Recently, I was told by a young relative, "You might as well accept it. That is the way people talk now."  

I liked it when we were civil and decent in our actions and our conversations. I believe that people who use vulgarities and cursing all the time are showing they have a very limited vocabulary, or perhaps they are just so angry with life that they only think in that language.

My sister, June, who was older than I, never used vulgarity or cursing, but she could put a person in their place and let them know her disapproval with just the right words, sending them off with their tail between their legs. She had a great vocabulary. I admired her ability to confront an offensive co-worker or an angry person without showing that she was upset. 

So, let's support our young people's returning to malls that have been struggling to stay open in our cities.  Perhaps decency and healing will flourish.