yesterday, a young man in slouching (falling-off) pants got in the elevator with us on our way down to the ground floor. when we reached the bottom, he stood to the side with his hand "holding" the door open so i could exit before him. i am not kidding when i tell you that bill and i were shocked.
NOT because of what he was wearing. if you've been reading this blog long enough, that wouldn't have even entered your mind. my college-professor kid has more tattoos than his brother, the blues guitarist (aka barrista). and one of the saddest days of my life was when jax called to tell me he cut off his nearly waist-length hair.
nope. we were shocked because i can count on ONE HAND the times a young person stood aside in the building and opened a door for me or let me enter or exit first. less than 5 times in FOUR YEARS.
that's where we are now, folks. bill and i are not elderly by most standards. but we ARE at least 20 years older than the average age of the residents here in this downtown apartment building. and i use a cane. the average resident in this building is around 30, college educated, "upwardly" mobile. pfffft. they don't have the manners of poop-flinging monkeys.
manners are passe. at least the ones that are meant to show respect/consideration to elders, women, handicapped. i have noticed a disturbing thing. we stop at a lot of starbucks stores (duh). it's more likely that someone is illegally parked in a handicapped spot in an affluent community than at a store in a middle-class or struggling community. "sense of entitlement" is not just a theory.
fuck.
Posted by Stacey at August 17, 2009 03:37 PMThis is so true (about the young people) I was shocked a few weeks ago when a young man stepped out of a circle of teenages to help me through a door with my stroller. It was also refreshing to know there are still some young people who are willing to go out of their way for a few seconds to help another-hope they know their small kindnesses go a long way!
Posted by: Heather Z at August 17, 2009 03:56 PMI am SO glad to know that my daughter and her boyfriend would have been kids who would have done the same. They may not know where they are going or what the hell they will do when they get there, but they at least have some consideration. Once in a while. *sigh*
Posted by: Keri at August 19, 2009 02:16 PM