| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted June 27, 2011 |
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Time to Stand Up for What Is Right
Sick of Taking It
by Rdfrdmom2
We need to stop tolerating bad behavior as the status quo!!!
I am unsure when it became acceptable for people to show lack of respect for others by their words, actions, or a combination of both. It certainly flies in the face of what I was taught at home, in school, in youth organizations and in church as I was being raised in the fifties and sixties. It is also not the way I raised my only child in the eighties and nineties. So, as I approach my sixtieth birthday in September, I am wondering which memo I missed along the way which makes the “anything goes” public behavior acceptable?
Since I am not known for my rants, one might be wondering what is driving this writing? Actually, it is an issue which has bothered me for a long time but one which was raised to a new level on my flight from Norfolk, Virginia to Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, June 23, 2011. It was a Southwest flight which meant seats are not assigned. As a rule, I tend to sit near the back when I board so I can quickly get out of everyone’s way. This particular flight happened to be fully booked and had a fair number of young children on it – many who were seated near me. Having spent my life as a public school educator, that was not a problem for me.
Before the plane was even off the tarmac, one of three young men, ages approximately eighteen to twenty-two, who were seated directly behind me let out the “F” word. I turned around and asked him to watch his mouth as there were many young children in our area who did not need to listen to that type language. If looks could kill, I would not be writing this. I immediately turned back around, willing to let the matter be over, as he seemed to be willing to do. Unfortunately, the guy sitting in the aisle seat decided he wanted to engage me.
“The last time I checked, we live in America and, according to the First Amendment, we have the right to say what we want!”
When I chose to ignore him, he went on to say, “I’ve heard kids much younger than me curse a lot worse. I didn’t realize we were going to be sitting behind an old lady who would turn out to be such a prude.”
I continued reading my book and chose to neither dignify him with an answer nor give him a government lesson on the First Amendment. After all, his right to free speech ends when it becomes offensive to others. This is especially true when one is in an area where one cannot move away from the offensive speaker.
Shortly thereafter, passengers were instructed to turn off all electronic devices so the pilot could pull away from the port and move towards the runway. I heard the stewardess informing the same young man she would be taking his cell phone from him if he did not turn it off immediately. He informed her he was going to finish his text first. When she reached for his phone, he muttered a profanity. She then corrected him for his potty mouth. Before he could say anything else, she reminded him she had the power to have him removed from the plane. That was sufficient to keep him quiet for a bit.
Our flight was five hours long. I should have known habits which had apparently been running rampant for several years could not be squelched for that amount of time without good use of duct tape. About two and a half hours into the flight, the profanities began again. At first, they were fairly light, both in scope and sound. When no one said anything, they became bolder.
Finally, I had had enough. I excused myself to the restroom and paid a visit to the stewardess on my way.
“I just want you to know I’m going to smack at least one of those boys before we land.”
“Are they being bad, again?”
“I am just tired of their profanity and their arrogance. I asked nicely the first time I said something. I also explained that small children did not need to hear them talking like that. Instead of compliance, one of them wanted to argue his First Amendment rights. Although I taught math, I could teach him a bit of government if that’s what it takes.”
I went on to take care of my needs. When I came out, the stewardess was talking to another passenger who was confirming my concerns. I returned to my seat and continued to read. Ten minutes later, I noticed movement behind me. The stewardess was rearranging the young men so as to separate them. The parents of the one directly behind me were asked to sit and supervise him. I’m not sure who had to supervise the other two.
The one sitting in the aisle seat said loudly as he was leaving, “I guess someone doesn’t like me.”
That’s likely the saddest part of this whole saga. No ownership of his doing anything offensive to anyone. No acceptance that I was truly trying to get the three of them to understand they were influencing the younger children seated near them. Instead, there was a sense of the poor, pitiful me being picked on once again – why can’t I do whatever I want to? – a sense of entitlement, if you will.
It is my belief the silent majority has been silent way too long. I am sick of unacceptable, public behavior (not that I like unacceptable private behavior, mind you) and believe it is time to stand up for that which I believe. And, that, my friends, is exactly what I intend to do.
I am unsure when it became acceptable for people to show lack of respect for others by their words, actions, or a combination of both. It certainly flies in the face of what I was taught at home, in school, in youth organizations and in church as I was being raised in the fifties and sixties. It is also not the way I raised my only child in the eighties and nineties. So, as I approach my sixtieth birthday in September, I am wondering which memo I missed along the way which makes the “anything goes” public behavior acceptable?
Since I am not known for my rants, one might be wondering what is driving this writing? Actually, it is an issue which has bothered me for a long time but one which was raised to a new level on my flight from Norfolk, Virginia to Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, June 23, 2011. It was a Southwest flight which meant seats are not assigned. As a rule, I tend to sit near the back when I board so I can quickly get out of everyone’s way. This particular flight happened to be fully booked and had a fair number of young children on it – many who were seated near me. Having spent my life as a public school educator, that was not a problem for me.
Before the plane was even off the tarmac, one of three young men, ages approximately eighteen to twenty-two, who were seated directly behind me let out the “F” word. I turned around and asked him to watch his mouth as there were many young children in our area who did not need to listen to that type language. If looks could kill, I would not be writing this. I immediately turned back around, willing to let the matter be over, as he seemed to be willing to do. Unfortunately, the guy sitting in the aisle seat decided he wanted to engage me.
“The last time I checked, we live in America and, according to the First Amendment, we have the right to say what we want!”
When I chose to ignore him, he went on to say, “I’ve heard kids much younger than me curse a lot worse. I didn’t realize we were going to be sitting behind an old lady who would turn out to be such a prude.”
I continued reading my book and chose to neither dignify him with an answer nor give him a government lesson on the First Amendment. After all, his right to free speech ends when it becomes offensive to others. This is especially true when one is in an area where one cannot move away from the offensive speaker.
Shortly thereafter, passengers were instructed to turn off all electronic devices so the pilot could pull away from the port and move towards the runway. I heard the stewardess informing the same young man she would be taking his cell phone from him if he did not turn it off immediately. He informed her he was going to finish his text first. When she reached for his phone, he muttered a profanity. She then corrected him for his potty mouth. Before he could say anything else, she reminded him she had the power to have him removed from the plane. That was sufficient to keep him quiet for a bit.
Our flight was five hours long. I should have known habits which had apparently been running rampant for several years could not be squelched for that amount of time without good use of duct tape. About two and a half hours into the flight, the profanities began again. At first, they were fairly light, both in scope and sound. When no one said anything, they became bolder.
Finally, I had had enough. I excused myself to the restroom and paid a visit to the stewardess on my way.
“I just want you to know I’m going to smack at least one of those boys before we land.”
“Are they being bad, again?”
“I am just tired of their profanity and their arrogance. I asked nicely the first time I said something. I also explained that small children did not need to hear them talking like that. Instead of compliance, one of them wanted to argue his First Amendment rights. Although I taught math, I could teach him a bit of government if that’s what it takes.”
I went on to take care of my needs. When I came out, the stewardess was talking to another passenger who was confirming my concerns. I returned to my seat and continued to read. Ten minutes later, I noticed movement behind me. The stewardess was rearranging the young men so as to separate them. The parents of the one directly behind me were asked to sit and supervise him. I’m not sure who had to supervise the other two.
The one sitting in the aisle seat said loudly as he was leaving, “I guess someone doesn’t like me.”
That’s likely the saddest part of this whole saga. No ownership of his doing anything offensive to anyone. No acceptance that I was truly trying to get the three of them to understand they were influencing the younger children seated near them. Instead, there was a sense of the poor, pitiful me being picked on once again – why can’t I do whatever I want to? – a sense of entitlement, if you will.
It is my belief the silent majority has been silent way too long. I am sick of unacceptable, public behavior (not that I like unacceptable private behavior, mind you) and believe it is time to stand up for that which I believe. And, that, my friends, is exactly what I intend to do.
Since I am not known for my rants, one might be wondering what is driving this writing? Actually, it is an issue which has bothered me for a long time but one which was raised to a new level on my flight from Norfolk, Virginia to Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, June 23, 2011. It was a Southwest flight which meant seats are not assigned. As a rule, I tend to sit near the back when I board so I can quickly get out of everyone’s way. This particular flight happened to be fully booked and had a fair number of young children on it – many who were seated near me. Having spent my life as a public school educator, that was not a problem for me.
Before the plane was even off the tarmac, one of three young men, ages approximately eighteen to twenty-two, who were seated directly behind me let out the “F” word. I turned around and asked him to watch his mouth as there were many young children in our area who did not need to listen to that type language. If looks could kill, I would not be writing this. I immediately turned back around, willing to let the matter be over, as he seemed to be willing to do. Unfortunately, the guy sitting in the aisle seat decided he wanted to engage me.
“The last time I checked, we live in America and, according to the First Amendment, we have the right to say what we want!”
When I chose to ignore him, he went on to say, “I’ve heard kids much younger than me curse a lot worse. I didn’t realize we were going to be sitting behind an old lady who would turn out to be such a prude.”
I continued reading my book and chose to neither dignify him with an answer nor give him a government lesson on the First Amendment. After all, his right to free speech ends when it becomes offensive to others. This is especially true when one is in an area where one cannot move away from the offensive speaker.
Shortly thereafter, passengers were instructed to turn off all electronic devices so the pilot could pull away from the port and move towards the runway. I heard the stewardess informing the same young man she would be taking his cell phone from him if he did not turn it off immediately. He informed her he was going to finish his text first. When she reached for his phone, he muttered a profanity. She then corrected him for his potty mouth. Before he could say anything else, she reminded him she had the power to have him removed from the plane. That was sufficient to keep him quiet for a bit.
Our flight was five hours long. I should have known habits which had apparently been running rampant for several years could not be squelched for that amount of time without good use of duct tape. About two and a half hours into the flight, the profanities began again. At first, they were fairly light, both in scope and sound. When no one said anything, they became bolder.
Finally, I had had enough. I excused myself to the restroom and paid a visit to the stewardess on my way.
“I just want you to know I’m going to smack at least one of those boys before we land.”
“Are they being bad, again?”
“I am just tired of their profanity and their arrogance. I asked nicely the first time I said something. I also explained that small children did not need to hear them talking like that. Instead of compliance, one of them wanted to argue his First Amendment rights. Although I taught math, I could teach him a bit of government if that’s what it takes.”
I went on to take care of my needs. When I came out, the stewardess was talking to another passenger who was confirming my concerns. I returned to my seat and continued to read. Ten minutes later, I noticed movement behind me. The stewardess was rearranging the young men so as to separate them. The parents of the one directly behind me were asked to sit and supervise him. I’m not sure who had to supervise the other two.
The one sitting in the aisle seat said loudly as he was leaving, “I guess someone doesn’t like me.”
That’s likely the saddest part of this whole saga. No ownership of his doing anything offensive to anyone. No acceptance that I was truly trying to get the three of them to understand they were influencing the younger children seated near them. Instead, there was a sense of the poor, pitiful me being picked on once again – why can’t I do whatever I want to? – a sense of entitlement, if you will.
It is my belief the silent majority has been silent way too long. I am sick of unacceptable, public behavior (not that I like unacceptable private behavior, mind you) and believe it is time to stand up for that which I believe. And, that, my friends, is exactly what I intend to do.
 Recognized |
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Thank you, dodgement, for the use of Boeing 747-400 - Taking Off to enhance this work. My granddaughter, Alexis, turned 29 months old on the day this happened. She is at the developmental stage where she picks up almost every word she hears. While I hated leaving her behind, I am so thankful she was not on this plane with me. However, my obligation is not just to help protect her but to help protect all children to include those three young men who need to learn how to act properly in public. Thanks for reading. Love, Jan
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Artwork by dodgement at FanArtReview.com
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