Sometimes, people think that age is a license to be a-holes. Just because you’re older doesn’t mean that you have the freedom to do whatever you want without a care about how it affects others. You don’t get to go scot-free just like that. You shouldn’t expect people to swallow your BS simply because you’re a senior citizen.
I’ve noticed this from so many older people, they deliberately try to take advantage of young people, knowing that due to their age, you won’t really push back. It’s wrong, and the fact that we keep letting them get away with it is what is enabling them. No one is too old to be corrected. And just because they’re old doesn’t mean that they’re wise.
Why am I saying this? I was at the hospital on Wednesday. It was a pretty major trip for me because I had to leave early in the morning. If you remember my post about the cost of transport that I made on Wednesday, it was the hospital I was going to. It wasn’t for me though, I was escorting a family member to the hospital. And it was a successful trip, so I guess all is well!
Anyway, while waiting our turn to see the specialist, I was sitting on a chair. There was this old man beside me, he was easily 50+ish. There were still a number of empty seats around, and the place was in a properly sheltered place, so the harsh sunlight wasn’t an issue. We were sitting there, and something came up, so I had to stand up for a few minutes. I didn’t even go far at all.
By the time I returned, this man had taken my seat. As in, he left his seat and took mine. And not just that, he had placed a woman in his own seat. It didn’t make any sense to me, there were other seats close by that he could have taken. He could have remained in his seat, and the woman would have taken one on the other side, then they wouldn’t have had to move an inch.
But no, he just had to take my seat. When I returned, I asked him to stand up from my seat, and bro was like, “You really expect me to stand up for you?”. I was like, “yeah! I want you to!”
The thing is, if that was the only seat available, I would have understood. I’m a young guy, I can stand for a while, or perch somewhere. However, there were still so many empty seats around, and the man clearly knew that I was sitting there. It just didn’t make any sense at all! Like, why did he take my seat? Why did it have to be my seat?
And he was just rude to me. Talking about how I didn’t have respect, expecting him to stand up for me. But he should never have had to stand up, because he should never have been in that seat. Hell, if the woman had even sat in my seat, I would simply have let it go and taken another seat because I would assume she didn’t know the seat was taken. However, what was sticking in my craw and pissing me off was the fact that this man knew very well that it was my spot and did it anyway.
Now, you might wonder that maybe he thought I wasn’t coming back, however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I got up to speak to a nurse who was working in the department we came to. I also told him I was coming back, something people do to let those around them know that the seat is still spoken for. So, he couldn’t assume anything; he simply didn’t care. That’s all.
Well, what did I do? I could see that the man was already spoiling for a fight, but I couldn’t give that to him. It was a hospital, and with us were patients who were seriously ill and in various degrees of pain, I couldn’t have an argument in such an environment. And as I said, there were a lot of empty seats, so I just took another one. But not until I told the man what I thought of him.
I’m always a champion for respect, as a matter of fact, I can be respectful to a fault. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to try and play me for a fool or take advantage of me. It’s not right, and once I notice that’s what’s happening, I’ll set things straight at once.
I wasn’t rude to him, though. I didn’t insult him or anything. When I asked him to get up, I did it politely. Even when he insulted me, I didn’t retaliate. I don’t know if he wanted to get into a fight with me knowing fully well that no matter how it goes, people will take his side. Whatever the case was, I didn’t bite. When I told him my mind, I still did that politely. Kept my tone low when I spoke about my thoughts on his actions.
Then, I left him and found a new seat. I didn’t think of the episode again until this morning. There are so many ways that things could have gone. I could have insisted on taking my seat, but what would that have accomplished? Especially when there were other seats there. So, I chose to be the bigger man there.
Being older doesn't make you wiser!
