Let me get the groups thoughts on this.

[mrveggieman]

I was riding the subway on my way to work minding my business when the donut lady (she sells donuts on the train) got on. She was an older woman old enough to be my grandmother. There wasn't that many open seats on the train. A young girl in her late teens to early 20s offered to let the donut lady sit down in her seat. The donut lady then said no thanks I want a man to offer me his seat. I was like what? Where did she get her sense of entitlement from? Someone offered her a seat and if she wanted to sit down she should have taken it. She didn't ask for my wasn't going to offer it to her either. A man did give up his seat for her eventually. Was the donut lady wrong for feeling that a man was obligated to give up his seat or am I blowing this out of porportion. All are welcome to reply. Thanks.

[duane1969]

Older people have old school values. I don't know that it was entitlement as much as it was the opinion that gentlemen allow a lady to sit. She just wanted to be treated like a lady by a gentleman.

It is just the difference in generations. An older woman will expect to be given a seat or have the door held for her. A younger woman may act offended at the idea that someone is giving up their seat for her or holding the door for them. The "I am a modern woman, I can do it myself!" mentality doesn't exist in older women as much as younger women.

Chalk it up to old-school Southern genteelism.

[Star_Cards]

you also have the "respect elders" aspect of this that was hit by the woman offering the woman her seat. It seems a little disrespectful for the woman to be offered a seat and then want someone else's seat. It's a little like giving a homeless person who's panhandling some change and they give it back saying they only want paper money.

FYI, I was with a friend once who gave his change to a guy asking for money and the guy stood there and picked the pennies out and gave them back to my friend.

[mrveggieman]

One bad apple spoils the whole barrell. Because of this type of behavior it make you not want to help anyone. I remember a few years ago on the train a lady was begging for money to get something to eat. One of my co workers offered to get off the train and take her to any fast food place of her choosing. She got real nasty with him asking him "who he was talking to like that?" That's why I give to charities and not to the panhandlers. I see that donut lady on the train from time to time and I'm not going to give my seat up to her because she really dosen't need it if she is able bodied enough to pick and choose who she wants to give up their seat.

[Star_Cards]

I rarely give to panhandlers. Where I went to college had quite a few around. They'd mostly get fairly aggressive (not physically) if you didn't give them anything. They'd hound you multiple times. Although it was funny to hear their stories as to why they need money.