I saw something pretty awesome the other day. I think that everyone has a "those disrespectful kids" story... and I think that there has been a lot of conversation in society about the "loss of chivalry" I guess would be the way that I would word it. Well the other day, Cea and I were on the subway, and there was a group of about 15 teenagers. When you get teenagers together, we all know how obnoxious they can be (probably because we were once like that and sometimes still are when we're with our friends), without even thinking about it. To them, they were having a ton of fun, and everyone on the bus around them didn't mind and were minding their own business. Well what impressed me, was that they all would have been labeled pretty quickly by most as "thugs" or "ghetto" or whatever else (I think you know what I mean).
There was one of them, just minding his own business, had his iPod on, designer sunglasses, wife beater, pants sagged to his thighs, throwback Nike shoes, just chilling on the bench. An older couple walked on the bus and most of the seats were taken. This young guy, looking like the thugs we'd all see on movies, took one look at the couple, grabbed all his stuff, and gestured for the women to sit in his seat. I sat there for a second and just watched. She walked over and thanked him. He courteously nodded back to her and stood for a good amount of his ride.
It was really cool for me to see. I ride the subway every morning for about 30 minutes, and I don't think I've seen anyone give up their seat for someone else. I don't think that it's because we're all punks, but probably because we're just busy minding our own business, reading our books or newspapers, doing our own thing and not paying attention to those around us. It was a good lesson learned from a youth, a reminder to pay a little more attention to those around you, and not to quickly label someone. This "thug" or "kid from the ghetto" as most would label him had more kindness than most others.
2 comments:
that's pretty cool Kev, recently we had an opportunity to teach small lesson of chivalry to one of our scouts. Sometimes I wonder if these moments that are seemingly insignificant would serve to help rising generations, if those of us who know better or who are more aware --took time to demonstrate the importance of chivalry or politeness. Anyway thanks for sharing!!
I love this comment...it really makes me think about how much I judge people and shouldn't. I am so glad that you guys have this blog so i can see what you are up to :)
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