Where have all the gentlemen gone?
One of the main functions of a culture commentator is to say things that should go without saying.
So it is quite unremarkable to remark that there are few gentlemen left. When you think of a gentleman, do you conjure images of some tuxedoed dandy with jutting chin and a long nose, the better for looking down? That is not the kind of gentleman I mean.
Every generation has had its share of base men and those with gentlemanly airs. What they both had in common was their lack of respect for their fellow man. As it is with the cowardly, lack of respect for your fellow man is most visibly made manifest in their treatment of women.
The way I hear some men speak about women, I wonder if there are any gentlemen left. If I were able to wave a magic wand and erase one despicable habit from our culture it would be ogling. I hate ogling.
I have met men in all walks of life, wealthy and wanting, professional and blue collar, married and single that think nothing of looking a woman up and down and then commenting on her appearance, often within earshot of their unsuspecting target.
“Hey, did you check out the ____ on her?”
What?!?!
This drives me crazy. It is pointless to try …
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