Society & Politics

Manners and etiquette: a thing of the past?

I think everyone needs to be considerate of the other people they meet or share time with. We are all trying to live together on a tiny ball of rock suspended in vast emptiness. This involves whatever one can do to treat the people around us with respect and empathy.

As a kid, I was taught that a man should hold the door for a woman or an elderly person. To offer a seat on the bus or train to a pregnant woman or an elderly person. To offer to carry something heavy if you see someone struggle. To offer your umbrella if you’re standing at a crossing in a heavy downpour and you’re the one carrying the umbrella. To walk on the side closer to traffic to protect a child - just in case. I think I’ve done all those things at least once, and would have done so even if no-one told me to do so. It just seems common sense.

But sometimes you get a remark like “I don’t need this”. You see them thinking something along the lines “I can take care of myself”. I get the impression that people are being more selfish and self-centered than ever. That they just can’t be bothered. It’s not just a thing of generations either. Inconsiderate and rude people are of all ages. Some walk through life pushing other people out of the way - literally and in a figurative sense. It’s not just a thing of male vs. female. Neither sex has a mandate to be more thoughtful than the other.

What are your thought on this? As a woman, do you like it when, for instance, someone holds the door for you or do you think “come on, really?” Would you say it’s sexist or over-protective to be considerate?

Manners and etiquette: a thing of the past?
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