The rules of civility dictate that we hold our tongue when others are engaged in uncivil behavior -- particularly if what we are moved to say would serve only as an accelerant. Just today, a Sun colleague was tempted to stick his nose where it didn't belong (described below). He gets a crown of laurels for restraining his sarcastic wit and remaining mum, a very civilized thing to do under the circumstances.

"A guy in my neighborhood drug store today was having a very angry confrontation with the checkout clerk over I dunno what," our friend writes. "She is one of the many Russian-speakers in our neck of the woods, but I don't think that was the problem. The guy threatened to charge her with assault and he kept asking, 'What's the name of your supervisor? . . .  'What's the name of your supervisor!?' I carefully refrained from interjecting, 'No, What's the name of the fella on second base."

Good choice. Not very exciting, holding tongue like that. But very civil.