It really bugs me the way old folks nowadays are ragging on young people for being disrespectful. Talking of the way today’s generation bears rotten morals especially when it comes to respect. But my encounter with this ‘new generation of old folks’ tells me something else about respect and how much they don’t deserve it.
I believe respect is not aged….it is earned. It is earned from the kind of character that you carry yourself with and how much you respect your own self. Though there is a lot you can learn from the older generation, the scales tips on either sides for both the good and the bad stuff. Many people live reckless lives making foolish mistakes and still bark for respect even when they are not worth it, just because of their age.
My bone of contention rests particularly with an incident that recently occurred in a public service vehicle. So this not so old guy boards the bus I was in, he was looking very respectable, around forty something, wearing a suit in face and looking like he had just left the office for home. The bus conductor starts asking for fare and everybody dips into there pockets to pay accordingly. But this particular old guy refuses to pay the fare! The young conductor politely asks the old guy to pay up like every body else…. This is where it really gets my guns……..the old guy tells the conductor that he is old enough to be his dad and he shouldn’t be made to pay the fare!!!! Then he starts tying to drum up support from the rest of the passenger about how the conductor is shamelessly asking him for fare yet he is old. Calling him disrespectful and all. And the whole time am thinking ‘using your age to get a free ride in a bus’?! If it was my dad, he would want my business to do well and he would support me in any way, including paying the fare!
I have a whole load of stories about how old people use their age to try and solicit favors like it is some handicap to sell themselves on. Age definitely deserves recognition, and I would give a thumbs up for anybody who has managed to live way longer than me. It is a hell of a world out there and every body is trying to make something out of it without some old person trying to suck your for every thing you’ve got just because they are old.
I give respect to those who deserve it, I give help to those who are helpless, and I speak for those who have lost their voice. There are truly old people who actually deserve the special treatment. Just because some few strands of hair turned grey doesn’t mean you can go around demanding for what you don’t deserve. Respect is a two way traffic.
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