Generation Gap

A friend recently commented that as people grow old, they tend to become very long winded and even develop odd manners. And because of that, the young and the old do not see eye-to-eye, and the so-called generation gap is developed.

I think that young people ought to be more patient with the old, after all they have been through their times and can provide sound and wise advice. Furthermore, some young people just seem to be disrespectful; they think the world of themselves, and they simply do not care about what the older generation has to say.

However, recently I heard and witnessed the behaviour of some old people who appear to want to make things difficult for others for no apparent reasons, and that made me re-evaluate the thinking of this league of young whom I used to scorn at.

Here are a few such classic instances which I think may be familiar to many:

Old man on MRT:
He sits down on the MRT and places his bag or plastic bag next to the empty seat next to him. There are people standing all around him but he is simply oblivious to them. Finally someone says "excuse me", and signals that he wants to sit. The old man looks up, frowns and reluctantly removes the bag, muttering angry remarks under his breath.

To the old man:
So you think you call the shots just because you are old? No wonder some people say old people are inconsiderate. It is because of black sheep like you. Don't you know that nobody enjoys the company of a grumpy old man?

Old lady in coffeeshop:
She sits down in a crowded coffeeshop, enjoying a bowl of fishball noodles. She appears to be alone and there are three empty seats at her table. A family of five comes along, politely asks if they could remove a seat. She shakes her head. Shortly after, a young couple comes by, asks if they could share the table. "No" was her reply. Is she expecting somebody? Is she saving the seats for others? But nobody came. When the old lady finishes her bowl of noodles, she stands up and walks off with a satisfied look.

To the old lady:
Do you think you own the seats just because you sit down at the coffeeshop table? What's wrong with giving up a seat when you do not need it? Why can't you share the table when you cannot possibly occupy all four seats at the same time?

I guess for the above two elderly, they cannot blame the young (and not just the young) if they were to be snapped at for their unreasonable behaviour.

If you want to be treated with respect, whether you are old or young, you have to first respect others. That's the rule of the game.