THE LAST GENTLEMAN

The Death of Chivalry

I just want to take a moment to thank every man who ever opened a door for me.

In the wake of the #metoo movement, chivalry is a dying art.

Men are afraid to offend women or be accused of coming onto them.

“I can open the door myself, thank you.” a woman may snap at any man who tries.

I’m on a flight when I see a petite woman several rows ahead struggling to lift a heavy bag to the overhead compartment. Her seat neighbor, a young man, completely ignores her grunts, eyes glued to his iphone. No one comes to her aide. Suddenly, my seat neighbor, an older gentleman of a certain height, jumps up, strides forward, and hoists the bag into the compartment easy as pie.

“Thank you so much, sir.” The woman beams.

“Think nothing of it.” he shrugs and returns to his seat.

This scene prompts me to think of my own encounters with chivalry. I am well traveled and my biggest experiences with it have been overseas in different cultures. In Russia, the men would always pay for the women in restaurants, bring them flowers, carry their bags, open their car doors, seat them first, chaperone them home, and treat them like royalty.