By Dr. James L. Snyder
The week was going quite well until I ran into Ms. PC. I know a thing or two about language and words, but I still am flabbergasted when it comes to the latest PC. I think somebody ought to do a weekly update on this aspect for us who are not up to date.
I do not make any apologies, but I am from the generation that believes in being a gentleman. I know that does not fit well into today’s society, but I am rather hesitant to change this aspect of my life. My father and even my grandfather instilled in me that I needed to be a gentleman at all times. It has been rough down through the years, but I have tried to maintain my gentleman’s status through life.
Then I ran into Ms. PC. I am not quite sure where these people come from but I know where I would like to send them; as far from me as possible!
I was about to enter a store and as I opened the door, I noticed a lady behind me. This is where my gentleman DNA kicks in. I opened the door, turned to the lady behind me, and said, “After you, Ms.” As I said it, I smiled and nodded my head.
“That is,” she said in a very angry voice, “the most sexist thing I have seen all week. How dare you?”
Not only was I blindsided by these remarks, but I was dumbfounded.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I said as apologetically as possible.
“There you go again,” she glared, “with more of your sexist comments.”
Not knowing what she was talking about I just looked at her while holding the door for her.
“I suppose you think you are better than me,” she queried. “Where you get the idea that you are better than I because you are a man I will never know.”
“I am just holding the door open for you, ma’am,” I explained.
“There you are again thinking you are better than I am because I am a woman. Where have you been all your life? Don’t you know that men and women are exactly the same?”
Now I was confused. I did not know who I was talking to or rather I should say, who was talking to me. I did not understand what she was saying. I was just trying to be a gentleman.
I thought I would try to explain it to her. Mistake!
“Ma’am,” I began, and then she interrupted me.
“Don’t you dare call me ma’am again. I am nobody’s ma’am!”
Now I did not know what to do. Should I walk into the store and shut the door behind me? Or, should I just shut the door and walk away? At this point, no matter what I did would have been wrong.
“I am just trying to be a gentleman. That’s all. I don’t mean any disrespect.”
I thought it would at least ease the tension in this situation, but I was mistaken.
“That is the problem with people like you. You want me to believe that you are a gentleman and I don’t believe it. This world does not need any gentlemen I will tell you that right here and now.”
To say I was a little irritated is to grossly understate the situation. Then I noticed something on the door. On the inside of the door was a lock so the door could be locked from the inside. I do not know what come over me, but I am not responsible for the irritation level I was at at the time.
I turned away from the lady, walked into the store, pulled the door shut behind me, flipped the lock and walked away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that this woman had stepped up to the door and was rapping on the door, all the time her mouth was going a mile a minute. Thankfully, I could not hear a word she was saying. Since she does not need a gentleman, she did not need me.
For a brief moment, I felt a little guilty about my shenanigans. I have never done anything that outrageous before in my life. Sometimes a gentleman needs to show a lady that being a gentleman is a good thing.
I will continue to be a gentleman and I hope this little incident is a rare exception. Today people make it rather hard for other people to exercise politeness. In our politically correct society nobody knows what is good or what is bad.
The aforementioned lady, and I know she would not want me to call her a lady, and for all practical purposes she was not, has no idea the difference between a man and a woman. Evidently, she has never been married.
If men and women are exactly the same without any difference, why then, are there men and women? Those who do not believe that there is any difference have been sold a bill of goods by some slick shyster who is making them look foolish.
The Bible says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
My standard of behavior is not set by the people around me, but by the Word of God that is within me.
Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His website is www.jamessnyderministries.com.
