To be quite honest, I'm done with people using the term "petty" to excuse being blatantly rude. Everyone is entitled to a bad moment, but no one is entitled to being rude. Some people will make the excuse, "I'm naturally petty." To me, that translates to, "I think I'm funny and I really just want to be acknowledged."
In recent years the media has glamorized "being a savage" or being "petty." Newsflash: writing rude things on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat does not make you a bold person. Treating people like they are beneath you does not make you more appealing to others.
As a society, we are poor communicators. Despite being in constant contact with each other, we don't know how to speak to each other. We are willing to indirectly post about people on social media, but at the same time try to avoid people we have a conflict with in person.
People also view silence as being petty, and it absolutely is. Ignoring someone is one of the cruelest things you can do, but doing it doesn't make you any stronger. You're allowed to dislike people, to argue with them, and have your own opinions of them, but you should at least acknowledge them. Just because you don't like someone does not mean that they don't deserve basic respect.
"Petty" translates to attention seeking, in my opinion. From my experience, people only act blatantly rude to another person if they think they have an audience. This holds true for social media as well, very few people can say something to another person without screen-shotting it and sending it to their friends. It is as if no one can speak out without having the approval of their friends, which is pathetic.
People are annoying by nature and that isn't a foreign concept. It's easy to get frustrated, it's easy to go off on someone, and it's even easier to be rude. What should be easy, but apparently isn't, is treating people with respect. You don't have to run to your group chat and brag every time you say something that you deem to be "petty". You're not a "savage" for making someone feel inferior; you're immature.
Before you confront someone ask yourself, "Is this constructive, and will it solve the problem?" Work towards solutions, not problems. Learn to look at people with a fresh pair of eyes, instead of harboring resentment and looking for fights to pick. As I said, it's easy to be mean these days, so being "petty" does not make you an individual, being mature does.
