Emily Post's etiquette tome overhauled for 21st century
Embracing without permission
NEW YORK (AP) — Embracing without permission. Disparaging one parent in front of children struggling with divorce. Flaunting privilege. Being a bad listener or, worse, a terrible loser.
The world and all its interactional black holes would likely have Emily Post spewing her tea. The grande dame of all things manners died in 1960, but two of her descendants have overhauled her book of tips for the 21st century to mark the centennial of the first edition.
“I think mostly that it’s really easy to paint etiquette and manners as tools for elitism, tools for secrecy, tools for exclusion," said Lizzie Post, Emily’s great-great-granddaughter and co-author of the latest “Emily Post’s Etiquette.”
"And when they are used that way, and they definitely can be, they are effectively useless. But when we’re using etiquette and manners as a tool for self-reflection and awareness of others, I think we’re really going to have a chance to make the world a nicer place," she said.
