Have I mentioned how much I love I have for the human male species at the moment?
In the past few days I have witnessed, viewed or were directly told / know about…
Witnessed:
A friend and I were window shopping. As we were not in a particular rush, we strolled behind an elderly woman using a walker in front of us. A teenager, apparently not happy at the rate of speed we were moving, huffed and rushed around my friend and I to our left. However, the elderly woman decided to move to the left at the same time. Somehow the teenager’s foot caught the leg of the walker effectively wrenching it from the woman’s hands and causing her to tumble forward. The only reason she did not fall flat on her face was because my friend and I both grabbed her at the same time, steadying her. Still it was jarring for her. The teen mouthed off an obscenity as he just shy of threw the walker in our general direction and kept going.
I was about to call out something related to his upbringing, or rather the lack thereof when the teen suddenly dropped to the ground. I looked up and saw a very strong-arm extended straight out. The arm belonged to a gentleman, perhaps in his mid-30’s, who had clotheslined the teen. The man then grabbed the teen by the back of his coat and marched him back towards us. I never saw the man’s mouth move, or heard anything, but he clearly had said something to the teen between dropping him and lifting him. The elderly woman, my friend and I were near flabbergasted as the teen picked-up the walker, stood it properly in from of the elderly woman and apologized to all three of us, but especially the elderly woman. And where one would have expected him to be belligerent or at least sullen, he was actually contrite in his apology. Once the gentleman let go of the teen’s collar, the teen made another quick apology and walked away. The gentleman gave us a short salute and a nod, which looked almost like tip of a hat, except he wore none and merely walked away without a word to us, not even acknowledging our effusive thanks.
I have no idea if the man and teen knew each other. It was a situation that could have become; really bad, really fast if the teen had chosen to fight. Instead we had a wonderful example that a) chivalry is not dead and b) that there is hope for the future, as at least some can be corrected of the error of their ways, at least in regard to manners.
Viewed on Facebook:
Several companies in an area share the local diner. After some time everyone gets to know the regulars even those that work for other companies. K, a person I am already proud to call a friend was shocked when a fellow diner not only openly admits to watching child pornography that he “found”. There was no shame in his actions. K’s co-workers were aghast, but not wanting to confront to issue were trying to exit out of the sickening conversation. However there was soon regret when the scumbag begins to speak of the little girl in the found cache in terms that should never be used with a child and finds himself slammed into a wall with K’s fist drawn back, ready to deliver what I’m sure would have been one hell of a blow. In a complete Murphy’s Law move, that would be the moment K’s boss spies the situation.
Long story-short: K still has a job and the police were called on Mr. Scumbag. As I commented on Facebook, we need so many more like K, who will not only be instantly enraged by such, but will take the perpetrator to task and actually Do Something.
Told / know about:
- The love and kindness of two adult sons dealing with parents who are taking their final bows.
- Three marriage proposals, two of them very creative (B, it was about time! G and J, well done guys, well done!)
- One husband’s very enthusiastic reaction upon discovering he’s about to become a father. (So much awe E, so much awwww ♥.)
- A, you know what and why, much props to you.
So with March, and thus Women’s History Month fast approaching, while we’re still in the month of love and I’m still in such a gregarious mood, I just want to give some love out to all my male friends in particular but spread some love out to the rest of you guys too.
Just try not to make me lose this feeling for you all before the week is out okay? 😉
<>==========<>==========<>
Raivenne-lations 
I’m also glad to see that some people are still able to intervene in these cases. I might add, though, that many people are discouraged from doing so because they could be arrested for violating the civil rights of the “perps”.
What wonderful examples of bravery! They are great examples to show students the power of bystanders who speak out against bullying…and that bullying is not limited to schools.
Wow! What a great post to read! It can actually tie in to Women’s History Month, if you think about it. The way those men acted so bravely and kindly and with such chivalry honored and protected women. Instead of demeaning us or our importance, they defended it. What great examples. If we look around us, I believe we see similar situations more often than we realize. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading this!
I agree! And I’m thinking about watching the Oscars and some of the comments of the mc! I had to digest them and then read thoughtful critiques and land with the opposition. What do you think?
Bonnie
Great post. I love when anyone stands up to those who look to hurt and demean others. Kay is right. Bullying is not limited to our schools.
So nice. Doesn’t it seem like only the bad stories get told these days? Like, the teenager and his (very) bad manners?! If everyone wrote/talked about the good things happening in the world I think we would see there is more of that than the bad!
Love your stories, especially the first one. I’m a single mom of two almost-men. I hope they would never be that rude but…I’m always so, so, so grateful when a man steps in and teaches them how to be men, or holds them responsible. It just isn’t the same coming from me!
High standards for their own behavior, and others. I’ve been bringing up the lowest common Denominator a lot lately. Here’s to those who won’t accept that.