Incivility means rude, discourteous, impolite behaviour (Alola and Alola, 2018). Reio, Jr. Once stated, “The direct and indirect costs of incivility to a society or a culture can be substantial” (2011, p. 54). The cumulative effect of incivility when it happens at work (workplace incivility) affects individual, team, and organizational performance (Estes and Wang, 2008). Incivility at work is part of a toxic continuum leading to workplace violence (Estes and Wang, 2008; Ghosh, Dierkes and Falletta, 2011; Kormanik, 2011). One need only look at recent headlines to see the shocking violence that has gripped our world. We seem to have a particular predilection for violence as a way to express frustration. Hate crimes can be considered as a form of workplace violence (Jacobs and Scott, 2011). HRD scholars began studying incivility around 2008–2011, but its roots go back further than that in the management literature. Moreover, incivility and workplace bullying have evolved to cyberbullying in the workplace (Escartin et al., 2021; Piotrowski, 2012). By investigating the history of the study of toxic behavior, this paper presents new insights into the violence of today’s headlines, as well as implications for HRD research and practice today.