Sunday, January 29, 2012

What do I look like, a doorstop?

My mother taught me to be courteous.  And that includes holding a door open for someone coming through the door behind me – be that person male or female, young or old.  It only takes a second or two to pause and hang onto the door until the next user grabs it.  No huge expenditure of energy; no great loss of time in my day.  What I find exasperating is the utter lack of acknowledgment when I hold a door open for someone.  I wasn’t hatched yesterday.  I know we live in a fast-paced world in which we’re conditioned to be wary of strangers.  So I don’t expect conversation or a tip.  But how about a simple “thank you”?  People pass through the door I politely hold open for them without so much as a a nod or momentary eye contact.  Never mind a smile.  Maybe we’ve become so accustomed to motion-activated automatic doors that we don’t know what to make of the sight of a human being hanging back to hold a door open.  The world seems to be filled with Queen Elizabeths who regally saunter through a held-open door as if they’re entitled to it and couldn’t condescend to spare a glance.  And, of course, there are the passers-through with cell phones pressed against their ears.  Those electronically mesmerized folks probably don’t even realize they’ve passed through a door on their way to their cars.  Yes, if it bothers me that much I could stop holding doors open.  I could let them slam into the faces of those behind me.  I should know how; I’ve seen it done often enough.  But, with my luck, the day I decide to let the door go without glancing over my shoulder, it’ll be my mother behind me. 

What lack of manners bothers you?