Yesterday, I tried to be nice. This happens much more often than I let on, but this one was truly out of the blue.

At some point during this past week (I’m not sure when, as TiVo grabbed the episode for me), Judge Judy completely skewered a personal trainer who refused to refund the money of a client. Even though Judge Judy was correct in her judgment, she did not give the impression that she was impartial in this case. In fact, she seemed to have made up her mind before she heard anything from the personal trainer, and was consequentially icy and rude to him from the outset of the trial.

Normally, I’m all for this, but only when it’s obvious that the litigant is trying to pull a fast one. In this case, it seemed as if the personal trainer truly thought he was in the right. He was bumbling and arrogant, but it was clear he didn’t mean anyone any harm.

At one point during the trial, Judge Judy read aloud from the personal trainer’s contract, including the name of his business. With that information, it was a simple thing for me to discover his website and email address, and I dropped him a quick, anonymous note that I had thought JJ was too harsh with him, that I could see his side of the complaint, and that he hadn’t received a fair hearing. If I had just been humiliated in front of millions of people on national television, that’s what I would want someone to do for me.

He responded back immediately, seeming very grateful for my comments, although apparently not grateful enough to send me the requested photographs of himself with his shirt off.

What ever happened to common courtesy?