Some elders, be courteous or get karma

Most elders are friendly and courteous. However, there are some elders who were brats when they were young, and end up a grumpy and nasty people when they get old. Unfortunately, we will bump into these people occasionally.

A word of wisdom, "don't be misled into thinking that age will tone down the nastiness of people". It won't. Nastiness is an integral part of certain people. It is their character trait. Although some people will grow out of it, a significant will harbor this trait until their last breath.

On the MRT, I have seen plenty of times how nasty and grumpy some elders can be. These elders mistreat others. Remember the grumpy old man who poked his stick/umbrella at a youngster to signal to the young man to leave his seat so that the old man can take it? What an ill-mannered way to ask for a seat! Age doesn't give a person the license to be obnoxious and ill-mannered. As expected, the young man didn't budge and refused to let his seat. The old man took the young man's picture and posted it on Facebook. How vindictive this grumpy old man can be?

Today, I've seen an old man in his 50s. He was not frail and didn't look like he needed seat. Anyway, he needed a seat. What happened next was unexpected, the uncle moved to the reserved seat where a young girl was seated. The old man gestured with his hand for the girl to stand up and move away. How rude can the uncle be? The young girl left her seat. Out of the blue, this uncle started grumbling about how rude the young girl was for not letting her seat "willingly" or on her own accord.

What happened to courteousness? Shouldn't we lead by example? Did age wasted away good-manners in certain old people? Would age erode kind words from our vocabulary, such as "please, thank you, may I have your seat, you are really kind, god bless you, appreciate your kind help, thanks for your understanding" when we get old? Should we expect people to let their seats on their own accord and expect to reciprocate by being a nasty old person if they failed to do so? How on earth do people know who needs a seat? Being courteous is a two way traffic.

My conclusion is that, nasty old people are sometimes derived from the nasty and bratty youngsters. Age obviously didn't change their character nor tone down their nastiness. If I were the receiving end of this ill-mannered treatment by grumpy and nasty old people, I will surely shoot back, "Uncle! be respectful if you want to be respected!!!"

Lastly, don't be misled by appearances.

Just a thought.