Greasemoicockneypalm said:
The thing about old people is that they come from a time when morality, bravery, honour, duty and respect were words with real meaning, and back then kids respected their elders because they recognized that older people were valuable, and far more wise than they were. On top of that, you'd get a smack if you were an uppity little shit who wouldn't take his hat off indoors. Taking your hat off is an ancient sign of respect, showing that you aren't hiding your identity/are comfortable leaving your head unprotected. Same thing with shaking hands, it shows you aren't holding a weapon in them.
Just respect your elders mate, they're better than you or me.
This post is so ridiculous I'm not sure I should bother with a rebuttal.
Greasemoicockneypalm said:
The thing about old people is that they come from a time when morality, bravery, honour, duty and respect were words with real meaning,
As a linguistics student I'm not even going to bother addressing the "real meaning" argument here but who says those values have been forgotten? I certainly still understand and value the concepts. And I'm definitely not the only one.
The thing is, people have been making these complaints for as long as there has been human civilizations. So, either people suffer from delusional fits of nostalgia, or if every generation has really been worse than the previous one, by now we should be living in an every-man-for-himself wasteland completely void of any ideals. We're not.
Greasemoicockneypalm said:
and back then kids respected their elders because they recognized that older people were valuable, and far more wise than they were.
As a generalisation, this is, of course, untrue.
Greasemoicockneypalm said:
On top of that, you'd get a smack if you were an uppity little shit who wouldn't take his hat off indoors.
Of course, the fact that corporal punishment is considered unnecessary and pointless by such organisations as the American Psychological Association doesn't really mean anything. They're just a bunch of experts on the matter, what would they know.
Also, while it's illegal where I come from, I have not yet noticed any significant decline in moral values in comparison to countries that still allow it. Of course, this is but an opinion.
Greasemoicockneypalm said:
Taking your hat off is an ancient sign of respect, showing that you aren't hiding your identity/are comfortable leaving your head unprotected. Same thing with shaking hands, it shows you aren't holding a weapon in them.
Given that these reasons aren't relevant in modern society, it's hardly worth mentioning them in context. As a sign of common courtesy and general appreciation of tradition, it's as good a symbolic gesture as any, but nothing more.
Greasemoicockneypalm said:
Just respect your elders mate, they're better than you or me.
Like others have pointed out, being old means you've been lucky enough not to do. It has, in fact a lot more to do with luck than any kind of behaviour that wasn't an inherent part of one's survival instinct. Yes, some old people are really wise, but that's no argument on behalf of the generalisation.
Furthermore, I don't understand the argument that other people had it perceivably worse than we do so at the moment, so that makes them better people. What kind of logic does that follow?
And people still fight for the "greater good". If you're too blind to see that then I'm sorry.
Personally, I open doors for women and the elderly, give my seat to those who might need it more, ask if people need help in some small or trivial task etc. but I can't shake the nagging feeling that the way I behave isn't as much polite as it is sexist and ageist, even though most people seem to appreciate my behaviour.