Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
Parents did a great job on YOU, huh? Or are patience, acceptance, and selflessness more of a "nature" than a "nurture" thing?
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They're all entirely nurture, of course. No one whose ever spent time around children has any illusions that any generous qualities or concern for others are inborn in them.
However, developing those qualities later on doesn't mean that one has to selflessly or patiently accept bad behavior from others. It is entirely mannerly - and probably a service to humanity - to refuse to accept someone else's bad behavior. Regardless of the age of the transgressor. (Actually, I just had a nice chat with someone about how the best way to enforce good behavior on the elderly, who like children sometimes think their age gives them a free pass in the behavior department, is to insistently believe that their bad behavior can only be due to total senility and incompetence: i.e.: start talking to them like children and explaining "oh, no grandpa, you can't ask that nice lady to go home with you, that's not grandma. Grandma is sitting next to you. Grandpa, do you know who grandma is today?" or in a non-sarcastic voice "aunt Ethyl, people have refered to each other as african-american or black for a very long time now, do you remember? Do you know what year it is? Whose president for you right now?" and then explaining to the offended "sorry, s/he gets confused sometimes." They tend to cut that shit out pretty fast.)
Why does everyone think that decent manners require one to be a whimp and accept the bad manners of others?
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