05 January 2015

Fine Manners

10 comments:

Cunning Gentleman said...

True, too true.
We have descended into an ungracious mob where it is to much trouble learn manners and/or to use the least bit of civility. When one uses manners it so unrecognizable and so stands out that, of course, it can be mistaken for flirtation as well as other forms of human interaction.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. I have lost count of the number of times I have said hello to even a semi-attractive woman in my apartment building and been greeted with a cold stare. It is almost as if woman of a certain age have been taught that to respond with kindness or civility is to invite a man to rape them. I'm just saying hello, miss.

Jacobite said...

One should always flirt with all women; the more elderly then all the more.

Jacobite said...

In fact, the worst that can result from flirting with all the girls is that one will be thought of as charming. For those up to it, the true test of a gentleman's politesse is to be able to crack a smile from a peevish lesbian of late middle age.

von Eulenburg said...

Much truth to the sentiments expressed here. Politeness today is actually considered rudeness to most people. Saying hello to a stranger is seen as an unpardonable liberty-almost as an act of hostility. Maintain civility, gentlemen. Politesse has become an act of defiance.

NCJack said...

I sense that a lot of people are waiting to take offense in some manner, and adopt a pose of resentful hostility, if not victimhood.

I suspect it's because, for the most part, they're not really well educated, nor well dressed, nor well bred, and they know it.

Anonymous said...

I went to dinner many years ago with my husband's charming great grandfather. He was in his late nineties. I tried to get the door for him but he refused. He said "beauty before age" and insisted that I go in first. I'll never forget his polite manner. He made me feel very special.

Jacobite said...

"He made me feel very special."

Yes, I suppose being boorish does make you "special."

Anonymous said...

No need to post this . . . this annoying man "Jacobite" recognizes my simple writing style I guess. His comments directed at me are rude to say the least and they come from nowhere. He's a "comment" stalker. He's not going to stop. I'm ignoring him, but I'm still bothered. Not that it matters, but I'm going to refrain from commenting in the future. Simply put, he freaks me out.

Anonymous said...

I can relate to this. I've always been a friendly/helpful woman as my parents taught me to be. It saddens me to think that if I say hello to a man, that he is sizing me up instead of just saying hello back to me. Erin