WHEN did it become acceptable to be angry, confrontational and rude about pretty much everything?

If a memo was sent out saying it was okay for people to fly off the handle at the drop of a hat, it certainly didn’t make its way to me.

I don’t claim to be a saint and I’m not set against confrontation if it is necessary, it’s more a case of preferring to try to adopt a relaxed approach to life.

Sadly we don’t live in an ideal world, so instead the daily torrent of aggression and intolerance is alarmingly prevalent and seems to be the easy and primary reaction to all manner of daily occurrences.

After all, if someone dares to voice an opinion you don’t share, and as reasoned debate seems to be out of fashion, the obvious response is to insult or ridicule them.

Or, if someone is walking along the pavement too slowly, don’t think about saying “excuse me, please” so you can get by easily, just barge past and utter an obscenity at them for daring to dawdle.

You see someone who looks a little different to you, simply bound up to them and pick fault at their appearance and disappear into the night knowing you’re a wholly unpleasant individual.

More and more petty insults and jibes are passed of as playful banter, much of which should come with the playground prefix of “no offence, but...” followed by a rude statement.

Banter among friends is one thing but when you open up the forum on websites it becomes a completely different beast.

The anonymous nature of being about to rattle out something spiteful on a keyboard leads to all sorts of outrageous comments, from those questioning people’s mental health to resorting to name calling and threats of violence.

So it is pleasing to see the Huffington Post is banning such comments from next month as it may cut out some of the sniping, while allowing those able to piece together a rational response the chance to still have their say.

Removing all comments wouldn’t be the answer, as freedom of speech is important, but it would be a reassuring signal that anger doesn’t achieve anything.

As I was taught as a child; if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.