It's not only necklines that plummet in hot weather...

It is truly amazing to me how my impression of people can take a complete 180 degree turn when something bad happens to them. They can be perfectly pleasant- until you take too long. They can be exceedingly polite and courteous- until they have to pay a fine. What is it that prompts people to make such a dramatic about-face? It's hard for me to understand how someone can be so polite, demonstrating a knowledge of basic human interactions one minute, and so utterly without regard for the people around them as human beings the next. I would rather deal with someone who was out-and-out rude, than someone who thought of manners as a means to an end, rather than something you should simply be in the habit of doing, at the very least, and ideally should derive some amount of pleasure and satisfaction from.