In last week's newsletter, I wrote about reality star Snookie and her boorish habits.

At least one reader got upset by this, noting that bashing people publicly is not good etiquette.

This is certainly true when we are in social settings with friends, family, colleagues, and new acquaintances. In these situations, the rule of thumb is that if someone else is using bad etiquette, we shouldn't call them out on it. That's because etiquette is about making people feel welcome, and it is about respect and civility.

However the context changes when we are dealing with celebrities. Like it or not, those in the public eye provide examples of civility and of good grace or bad grace.

We can use examples of good grace -- like Kate and William's lovely wedding -- as well as examples of bad grace -- like Snookie -- to define our own standards.

More importantly, as parents and etiquette trainers, we absolutely must judge and provide examples of right and wrong. These are case studies that we use to set norms of proper behavior for our families and our students. Otherwise, we live in a world where everybody can do what they want, because there are no generally accepted standards of behavior.

If you would like to read more on whether it is okay to judge others, see a longer article on my blog at
http://tinyurl.com/3q5uutq

Meanwhile, the world needs etiquette trainers! To help you get started, our business boot camp for etiquette trainers begins the week of August 22. It costs nothing for members of our Certification program and takes place via convenient teleconference. Current members will receive an invite so long as they are registered in our member area.

To get in on the great tips and system for growing your etiquette business, be sure to sign up for
one of our programs today! The boot camp alone is worth the tuition. We record it, too, so that you can download the recording from our member area at any time.