There we were – an elderly gentlemen and me with my tribe of 3. The elderly gentleman’s car was parked next to mine in the car park. We both couldn’t get into our cars at the same time. Someone would have to wait. He was polite and let me go first. He could obviously see me buckling under the strain of holding a baby, handbag and nappy bag. ‘How polite’ I thought.
When I turned and thanked him for his courtesy and patience he replied with “That’s okay. The kiddies come first. They are our future after all. Unfortunately”.
I was naturally taken aback. Unfortunately? What do you mean ‘unfortunately’? That last comment threw me. Did I hear correctly? Before I could comment he was in his car and had driven off. How deft and lucky – for him. For if he was around for another minute he would have “unfortunately” been on the receiving end of one of my tirades.
“They” say young people are rude but I put it to you that people like this elderly gentleman are hardly helping the situation. What does he have against my kids anyway? Like it or not, the kids of today are the future and if people like him have a blanket disrespect for all kids, then yes, it will be unfortunate for him in the future.
But it got me thinking. Where does this fear come from? Are we really in trouble? Will the kiddies of today completely stuff it up or is this just an age-old (or old-age?) fear handed down from generation to generation that never actually eventuates?
Is it getting better with every generation or worse?
Is it fair to condemn the young before they have been given the chance to prove themselves?
And the biggest question of all – can the world get stuffed up anymore than it already is?
Related post
Why Are People So Unkind?
This post first featured on my other Mum’s Word blog “And They Say Young People Are Rude”
