Level of elderly rudeness rising?.. Angry rant..

I have been noticing an increase in rude people when out in public. Strangely enough, it has been the elderly who have caught my attention. The once docile grandparent style of people appear to have disappeared and have been replaced by a bunch of rude and at times violent old turds.

Yesterday I had the misfortune of running into such a couple. I was in a crowded lift in the hospital, on my way to see my obstetrician for a check up before the birth of my child, who is due at the end of this month. So there I was, a very heavily pregnant woman, standing at the front of the lift and near the floor selection buttons at the side. Behind me and standing in the middle of the lift were an elderly couple, the man with his walking stick.

As the doors opened to the obstetrics floor, I took a step towards the door to walk out. Low and behold, I find myself being shoved out of the way and given a good hard whack across my very pregnant belly with a hard, wooden walking stick. The old couple then dashed out past me as I doubled over in quite a bit of pain. My first thought was 'shit the baby', as the people in the lift reacted and jammed the doors open. Most in there were hospital staff and several went after them while the others helped me out of the lift. I was close to falling by that point as the pain across my stomach made me actually feel faint. The excuse of the darling old couple? I had dared to step in their way and that 'young bitches like me should know to give way to and respect old people'. The irony did not strike me until after, as at that time I was quite scared for my baby as I was basically hurting. Now, did my daring to step in front of them (not knowing they were getting off at that floor) warrant my getting wacked quite hard across my stomach? I personally do not think so.

Thinking back, I find myself wondering, what about my right and the respect I deserve to not be hit across the belly by some old turd and his walking stick because he felt that he and his wife should always be granted all open and first access due to their age alone?

What had meant to be a quick appointment with my specialist turned out to be a 5 hour nightmare, having to undergo tests to make sure that the hit I took to my stomach did not harm the baby or myself. My husband, who had gone to park the car as I waddled my way to my doctor's office was livid when he arrived later to hear what had happened. Had he been there, I imagine he would not have hesitated to smack the old man and I doubt he would have cared that the man was old. So in a way, it was best he was not with me when it happened. The old couple were told off by several people, but they just walked away, declaring that "we" should respect old people and that "we" had no manners. Someone there mentioned calling the police and the reply from several others was 'no, they're old...'.. Personally I did not even consider the police at the time and had it been anyone else who had hit me in the stomach (eg if it were a young person), I probably would have asked someone to call them for me. But yesterday, I did not. That whole 'respect your elders' thought came to my mind. Looking back, I realise how foolish I was to let him get away with it. Thankfully my child was ok as that was my main priority at the time. I now have a bruise going across my stomach and it is quite tender to touch.

This was not the first instance that I have seen the elderly acting in a fashion that would have most young people arrested or reprimanded. The other day my husband and I saw an elderly man honking his horn and then ignoring the pedestrian crossing and nearly mowing down an old lady and a young woman pushing a stroller as he just decided merely go. In the supermarket, where they push in front of you or shove you out of the way to get to an item or the cash register. And each time, I have found myself biting my tongue because of the respect we should have for the elderly. Well no more as far as I am concerned. If they act like arseholes, I shall treat them as such. Enough pity. Respect should only be given when it is deserved. Age does not automatically qualify someone to gain respect.

*End rant*..

 

If you call it a lift instead of an elevator you must be in the U.K. or Australia. In America the rudeness of our elderly people is generally limited to driving a motor home ("caravan the size of an omnibus" to you Brits) getting 7mpg (30 l/100km) with a bumper sticker that says, "We're spending our children's inheritance." Americans are not a polite people, that man would have had his temperature taken with that cane. In Virginia last month a lady was prosecuted and sentenced to a year in jail (by a jury of her peers) for tossing a soft drink cup containing nothing but ice into the window of a car that had cut her off on the freeway and almost caused an accident. (The judge reduced the sentence to the several weeks she had already spent locked up.) Whacking a pregnant woman, geeze, he'd be rotting in prison.

Max, I call you an old codger because you pretend to be one, but you're younger than me and I'm still seven years from retirement. These days you have to be at least 70 to qualify as an old fart or an old anything else. Those people are still from the pre-Boomer generation. (As am I but I fake it.)

 

Bored with the rocking and are now back to charming us with your noxious presence I take it? Precious.

Of course I am not saying all "old farts" are rude. I know many elderly people who are charming and absolutely lovely. Just that lately, there appears to be an increase in old people acting like a pack of arseholes. It is not relegated solely to the elderly. Quite a few people have taken to simply not caring what consequence their actions might have on other people. But personally, I have noticed that quite a few old people are literally acting like old turds. I am not the only one to have noticed it. Nowdays, trip to the supermarket does not seem to be complete unless you get shoved out of the way by an old person. It's happened to me but I tended to just laugh it off. But to hit me with a cane across my very pregnant belly because I dared try to step off the lift before he and his wife? Come on... Had I known they were getting off at that floor I would have let them go first regardless. But I did not know and frankly there is no excuse for their behaviour.

I was thankful someone actually took their names and gave it to one of the midwives who had rushed to help me with a wheelchair, just in case he had harmed my child. Because I honestly did not even think of that at the time. The hope now is that I do not go into labour while I am still so bruised because if I do, I could end up having to have a c-section because of what he did. If that does happen, I might consider legal action to be honest. I am now angry as hell. I have done nothing wrong and my health and my child's health could now suffer because he was a rude old bastard and lashed out at someone who had done nothing wrong. Why couldn't they have simply walked off the lift behind me? What right do they have to expect to exit first, even when there is someone in front of them who was going in the same direction. Assaulting someone because you are old and think you deserve respect just does not cut it as far as I am concerned. You speak of perspective? Maybe his actions should be taken into perspective.

Would you beat someone with a walking stick for stepping in front of you Baron? Even a pregnant woman? Maybe perspective is needed. From the opposition.. huh?

I mean what had I done wrong? Was I meant to ask them what floor they were getting off on, just in case it was mine so that I did not dare step in front of them? I would have come off looking like a lunatic.

 

I honestly could not believe it at the time. I still can't.

The people who saw what happened have given their names and the midwife who come to help me gave the list to my husband, as well as with the name of the man who hit me. If anything does go wrong, I will seek legal action, only I will be calling the police.

Yesterday when it happened, I was asked a few times if I wanted the police to be called, but I just thought 'they're old'.. feeling guilty for even considering having someone so old arrested. In hindsight, I guess shock may have had something to do with it. My sole concern was that the baby was ok. Once that was done, I began to actually think about what he had done and I started to get angry. I had to undergo 2 ultrasounds, blood tests and other tests and examinations because of what he did.

Now I am so angry that I actually want to cry to be honest. The old bastard could have killed my child. Thankfully I was carrying the baby more towards the left than the middle and the right where I was struck. Had the baby been more in the middle or to the right, he would have been hit straight on. Thankfully, while he may have suffered a bruise across his arms or legs (can't really tell), the rest of his body appears to have been spared as they couldn't detect any damage to his major organs or his head and there does not appear to be any internal bleeding. I hate to think what would have happened if I was standing on the other side of the lift. I literally have a welt, now forming into a nasty bruise, going across my stomach from my right side towards the middle.:bawl:

*Sigh*

People are arseholes.

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