Day - 78 My Time is Valuable, Ergo - I'm Rude

I was in a department store today, and when I was all set with my purchases and ready to leave, it seemed that everyone else in the store decided to check out at exactly the same time. Although this particular store has 14 registers, only 4 were open, the lines were about 6 deep. Everyone understood the drill, stand in line, wait your turn and hope somebody in management notices and opens more registers. Everyone got it, except for one woman, who very loudly started to carp about the fact that she was standing in line, while more registers should be opened. Don't you know, her time was valuable, she was there on her lunch hour, why don't they open more registers? From the time I was standing there, it possibly could have taken 3 minutes for additional cashiers to get to the front and open registers. When the first new check out line was opened, this rude broad, elbowed the elderly woman in front of her out of her way and made damn sure she was the first person in the newly opened check-out, still bellowing about how much time she had wasted having been made to wait in line.
No one said anything. Me included, except I did ask the woman who had been elbowed out of the way if she was OK. When did it become socially acceptable to be rude? And when did we all decide to just tolerate it?  That nasty woman should have been ashamed of herself. But I don't think shame plays a big part in our world anymore. There was a time when how you conducted yourself in public not only reflected on yourself but also your entire family. I don't think that happens much anymore. One theory may be that we all have been inundated by stories of road rage, and the person who simply loses it, so we assume that it is better to let things be, keep ourselves safe. In doing so, we have allowed the rude people of the world free reign. I often wonder how miserable these people must be with themselves, if such inconsequential things as a line in a department store puts them in an outrage. So sad.