I've heard it explained that "hey" used to be more of an urgent way to get someone's attention, rather than a casual "hello" like it is now, so it sounded rude to some older folks.
You have a boss. A wrinkled plus-sized brown business jacket of a man whose idea of "cutting costs" is turning the air conditioner off. If he caught on fire, you wouldn't piss on him to put him out. How do you address him? "Good morning Mr. Perkins, how are you doing today?"
You've got a war buddy. You met at boot camp, you served in the same company, he splinted your leg in the field, you're his kids' godfather. You'd kill and die for this man. How do you address him? "Ah god not this fucking asshole again."
Official formal polite language like "Thank you" and "You're welcome" is the pair of nitrile gloves I put on to handle the really noxious shit that comes my way. "w'thanks man" and "no problem" means I'm willing to handle you with my bare skin.
Absolutely. I could understand it if it was a formal dining place I suppose. But it was a fucking Applebee's in a 20k population town with one other restaurant lmao
"Hej," pronounced "hey" is Swedish for "hello." Also "Hej hej" these days if you want to be more casual. It seemed weird to me at first, like "Hej mormor," for "Hello, grandmother," seemed informal, but if I said, "God afton," (good afternoon) my cousins said I sounded like a government issued language tape.
I'm glad the "not worth engaging with" attitude is dying out, but I do still think it's important to push for people to communicate accurately and effectively, which includes understanding and following grammatical rules when needed.
Language and vocabulary are essential to how we think and collectively problem-solve.