Chivalry gets a punch in the face

I've heard many women complain about how chivalry is dead.  And I have to agree with them to a certain degree, but it's not just the male gender that is to blame.  Many factors are at play here.  Our culture, media, and, yes, even women are partially to blame.  

I try to be a gentleman for the most part.  In high school I bought a little book on how to be a gentleman.  It was full of detailed tips on behavior and things to say in a variety of situations.  Some of them just seemed a little absurd.  I was not going to be sending a hand written note thanking my friend for having invited me to their kegger, which I barely remember anyhow.  Seeing as I live in socal and puddles are nearly non-existent, taking off my cloak and laying it on the ground so a woman can walk over it was not gonna happen either(did people seriously do this?).   I once attempted to pull out the chair for my date only to realize I was tugging on a booth.  I don't even try anymore with that one.  I will, however, help put on/off a woman's jacket, or offer my arm to an elderly woman on the steps.  Am I a gentleman?  Probably not since I'm not as consistent with this behavior as I used to be.  

At some point I realized I was being unnecessarily gentlemanly to women who were not lady-like at all.  On one particular first date, I don't even remember who it was but the kitchen messed up her order and upon her realization she just blurted out, "What the fuck?!"  Immediately, I knew that I did not want to raise children with this woman.  On another occasion I witnessed a man hitting a woman.  I jumped in between them and a few onlookers restrained the man while i turned to the woman to see if she was ok.  The woman with a look of trauma that immediately turned to rage punched me in the face.  I was in disbelief.  People standing around us just had a blank look on their face trying to figure out who I was and why she had punched me.  By the way, she was wearing a ring and it left a cut on my face.


The moral of this blog?  I'm not sure if there is one, but I'd like to tell you that it's important to treat others in the way you would like to be treated.  The woman that punched me probably treats others in a way that makes them want to punch her.  And when you're out there trying to find a suitable life partner, watch closely how they treat strangers because when the relationship is strained or they just aren't in a good mood that's the treatment you could expect from them.