Pollux
RoachHaus Brewery
- Joined
- 21/8/08
- Messages
- 2,567
- Reaction score
- 6
Just a thought I had while at the shops, and figuring we have a large cross-section of ages here it would be a good spot for a discussion.
Right, back story of how I got this idea in my head. I was just at the local shops and was on my way back to the car, I only had three small bags of stuff and was just walking along carrying it in one hand. The shops have a rather steep ramp back up to the carpark which has two corners in it, this makes it a pain in the arse to push a fully loaded trolley as you lose all your momentum coming around the bends. I was walking along when I came across an older couple (lets say at a guess early seventies) walking up the ramp ahead of me, they had a fully loaded trolley which the husband was pushing by himself and while he wasn't struggling he certainly wasn't doing it easily either. I considered offering to either help/push it for him but then I stopped and had a thought.
"What if he takes me offer the wrong way and considers it me implying that he is old/weak and can now longer do things like this on his own"
Which brings me to my question, has political correctness pushed us to the point that people are no longer willing to selflessly help others for fear their actions may be misinterpreted??
I recently read an article that suggested that the reason alot of pregnant women are left standing on public transport while able bodied men sit is because a growing number of men are afraid that the woman may not be pregnant, but just a bit heavy and they don't want to potentially cause offence. I personally was brought up that I should never be seated while a lady is left standing, regardless of her age/weight/pregnancy status, others do (quite justifiably) have the opinion that they should not feel obliged to offer their seat to ALL women, just those who are pregnant or otherwise less than fully able bodied.
Opinions???
Right, back story of how I got this idea in my head. I was just at the local shops and was on my way back to the car, I only had three small bags of stuff and was just walking along carrying it in one hand. The shops have a rather steep ramp back up to the carpark which has two corners in it, this makes it a pain in the arse to push a fully loaded trolley as you lose all your momentum coming around the bends. I was walking along when I came across an older couple (lets say at a guess early seventies) walking up the ramp ahead of me, they had a fully loaded trolley which the husband was pushing by himself and while he wasn't struggling he certainly wasn't doing it easily either. I considered offering to either help/push it for him but then I stopped and had a thought.
"What if he takes me offer the wrong way and considers it me implying that he is old/weak and can now longer do things like this on his own"
Which brings me to my question, has political correctness pushed us to the point that people are no longer willing to selflessly help others for fear their actions may be misinterpreted??
I recently read an article that suggested that the reason alot of pregnant women are left standing on public transport while able bodied men sit is because a growing number of men are afraid that the woman may not be pregnant, but just a bit heavy and they don't want to potentially cause offence. I personally was brought up that I should never be seated while a lady is left standing, regardless of her age/weight/pregnancy status, others do (quite justifiably) have the opinion that they should not feel obliged to offer their seat to ALL women, just those who are pregnant or otherwise less than fully able bodied.
Opinions???