I know you are expected to treat your elders with respect, but.........when your out shopping.....?

Question

They really push past you without saying a word, or they run there trolley into you without saying anything, yet if its the other way round they curse you and everything, its really annoying and hard to treat them with respect, but i still do lol.

Answer 1

Well, I'm 70. I don't run shopping trolleys into people nor push rudely in front of them. I try to treat others with consideration and politeness.
And I am greatly offended by young people's loud and foul language in public.
Maybe we all need to think of others, not just 'old' people.

Thankyou so much for your note. I couldn't reply as you don't allow email, but I was touched - and I offer you my very best wishes.

Answer 2

I don't find old people so much of a problem it's the 30-50 bracket that p*ss me off. I often have my 11 year old daughter with me & the amount of times she's treated as if she's invisible is amazing. These people shove past her, never say excuse me, let doors go in her face & never say thank you if she's holding a door open. Last Saturday she was at the head of a queue for a changing room, one came free & a 40+ woman dived in there. Because I was off looking at jewellery she was once again the invisible girl. I'm bringing my daughter up to be polite but respect is a two way thing. If adults treat children so rudely it is any wonder some kids don't respect them.

Answer 3

I understand what you are saying, but I have to agree with Samantha, its not just elderly people but all ages can be very rude and especially to young kids.
Many years ago when I looked after the elderly I had to do a survey as part of my training module. I had one question in particular that I asked 20 older people, I was surprised at their answers. The question was "what are the advantages of being older" 5 people said "I can say what I like to whoever I like and they cannot do a damn thing about it.....4 people said "I have more money now then I have ever had in my life and I cannot spend it" 8 people said "We push our way to the front of the queue and enjoy watching the sour faces" and three people said "The younger generation owe us"...I only asked 20 people and these were the answers I received..... I was quite shocked because all of these people were nice ordinary people and I tried not too looked shocked when they told me what they felt.
I must add that this survey did not reflect everyone in this scheme I just picked on 20 people who I thought would say something hones...and they did. Just goes to show you.

Answer 4

That's a good answer Begtan51! I agree, some of these bad mooded oldies have done all they can to get out of the house to do their little bit of shopping, are in pain or whatever. Don't judge them. The younger ones, well, yes they are rude and I don't let them be. But look at the behaviour on roads as well. We're all doing the same mundane thing, but who knows what the other has experienced before they left the house. There's no excuse for bad manners but I always say when someone cuts me up or does something stupid, 'perhaps they are late pick their kids up or something'... its a sad reality but people are becoming more and more insular and rude. Remember! Don';t be like them.

Answer 5

I'm a senior; I DO NOT have the right to push you with my cart, roll it over your feet, push in front of you in line. Perhaps I should be excused for the occasional fart, as that is something I have no control over, but rude is rude and I SHOULD be called out on those other things.
I think "respecting your elders" has a whole different meaning and it isn't letting them get away with murder just because they are older. It refers to helping them when you can, comforting when you are able, and understanding some of the problems which people do "grow into" as we get old. And, I don't think rudeness or meanness are two of those things to be tolerated from strangers.

Answer 6

I try to treat all people with respect until they prove they don't deserve it.

I try to put some consideration for senior citizens often being less agile than younger people into the equation, but if they're behaving badly and then demanding respect simply because they're old, they're already well on the way to proving to me that they don't deserve it.

Unfortunately rudeness seems to be getting more and more common among all ages.

Answer 7

i totally agree with you.
This happened to me 2 years ago,i was stood in a long queue waiting to pay for some stuff,i was 1 off from the till then 2 old biddies came up and jumped the queue infront of me,(1st time in my life) i spoke out,i said hey i was next get to the back of the queue,they both started having a go at me,saying it`s christmas you should be happy not complaining.
I went nuts in the shop from then on.
I respect the nice ones,not the nasty ones.

Answer 8

Rude and inconsiderate people are everywhere and its a pity so many of them are the older generation. They are a disgrace.

There is no excuse for this sort of behaviour and these old codgers, I do believe, are envious of youthful people. They spent their youth in war torn Britain, lived through rationing and now they feel young people are spoilt and have it easy. Not so, there are other pressures.

I admire you for not reacting, one day this generation will be gone and I must admit I do hope that we have gentler people on the way up. We could do with well adjusted elderly people around us.

Answer 9

This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I am torn between giving people respect and "Doing unto others...". My solution is to call them on their behaviour. Some of them get mad, but most just seem to get a embarrassed. People will push things as far as they're allowed to. One of my friends said her grandma actually started shoplifting and no one ever even said anything to her. It's ridiculous!

Just because someone is old, doesn't mean they shouldn't have to be courteous or obey civil rules. I recommend bringing it to their attention in a respectful manner.

Answer 10

I don't believe that just because your old you deserve respect ,every living being should be treated with respect unless they prove that they are not worthy of it .So if it was me in a situation(them being rude) ,I would treat them the exact same way I would if in were someone my own age.