There was a famous advertisement on tv sometime ago depicting the true state of people (men in general) lacking in public courtesy. In that memorable advert, a self-centred man was seen sitting casually oblivious to his surroundings in a moving LRT. To cut the story short, he never gave up his seat to those deserving passengers. The best scene was when he pretends to doze off when a blind man enters the train. The ad ended with a heavily pregnant woman givng up her seat to the blind man eventually.
Have we seen this scenario somewhere before?
What happened to the good old days when a man used to courteously hold the door open for a woman or give up his seat for her on a bus or train? During my working days long ago, I have come to witness men (not all of them) who rush in for empty seats without any consideration whatsoever towards the ladies left standing whether they be young or old, plain or pretty, pregnant or handicapped or with young children towing behind them.
We certainly live in a very different world today. A materialistic and selfish world. Men today are conditioned to believe that machos are real men whilst gentlemen are sissies. Meanwhile women continue to stress that men and women are to be treated equally. They reason why let the men open the door for them when they can do it themselves. Hey, don't get me wrong here. I'm all for gender equality. Its just that sometimes I feel there are things best remain unchanged.
Something like gentlemanliness.
I'm not saying I'm a modern feminist kind of girl. Far from it. I'm just a simple old fashioned girl who finds nothing more attractive than a man who offers you his seat or opens the door for you, lets you enter or exit from the elevator or pulls up a chair for you in the restaurant. If you go to an expensive restaurant the waiter might do it for you but then he's getting paid for it. These days when a man gives salam or greet hello to me he'd be trying to sell me something. You can see a lot of them in the shopping malls or near the streets where you walk.
There are few such men left in this world. They are indeed a rare species. If you are lucky enough to come across one of them, be sure to tell him how much you appreciate his kind genteel manners.
He'll be touched, I'm sure.
