DEAR MISS MANNERS: I work for a law firm. A colleague of mine received an incredibly rude email from someone at another law firm, and responded as follows: “I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are having a bad day. I hope you feel better soon.” Was this response rude? Strictly speaking, it doesn’t violate the rule against telling someone that they are being rude, but it certainly gets that point across. GENTLE READER: What did the rude email say?! Assuming it was as awful as you claim, Miss Manners thinks your colleague showed remarkable restraint. Being polite does not hav…
