Etiquette

I read a newspaper column today about etiquette. A woman who owns a company that teaches etiquette was interviewed. The article talked about this expert’s advice for dinner. She said that a woman should always put her purse on the floor, not the back of a chair. What about thieves? Is there not a time that a woman in a restaurant would want her purse in view? Or with a strap she could feel on her chair? She also said that one should not butter one’s roll all at once, but butter each bite of the roll separately. Seems rather stupid and inefficient, advice notwithstanding. Mention was made of no elbows on the table! I thought of my French teacher, who said her mother told her that Americans keep their hands under the table so they can draw their guns quickly, like cowboys. Etiquette is relative. What do they do in the many places in the world where children are starving to death every day? Probably not worry too much about etiquette. There are more important things to worry about. In good conscience, butter your bread however you please.