chivalry - noun - an honorable and polite way of behaving toward women based on the medieval knightly system of religious, moral, and social codes (Google)
Is chivalry dead? And if it is, do we women really want it to be? As I can only speak for myself and I am female and independent and successful and strong, I want to say no. Perhaps the women's movement (antiquatedly referred to as "women's lib") has neutered chivalry according to the opinion of at least one of my male friends, but the knife has not gone much farther, certainly not into the heart.
Case in point: If you read yesterday's column, you might remember that my daughter and I drove out to the South Bronx to see the Yankees play Tampa Bay. Upon arriving at a very expensive parking lot across from the stadium, the attendant had us park flush up against a chainlink fence, prohibiting my daughter from exiting through the driver's side. If she had been able to do so, the Mazda's computer system would have alerted her that she had left the headlights on once she opened the door. Since it didn't, the lights remained on and eventually deadened the battery.
Ergo, by inning 9, both the Yankees and my daughter and I were at a loss. They were down by seven, we didn't catch any fly balls and wound up with no transportation home to Jersey. Enter: two sets of modern day knights, the first being unsuccessful, the second being successful at jumping the car's battery. The good news was that we, the damsels in distress, didn't have to ask for assistance. All we had to do was prop up the hood, and stand there, looking dismayed, blonde, and completely vulnerable. Okay, so we could've waited for the assigned knight from AAA to get there, but nobody really wants to spend excessive amounts of time in a South Bronx parking lot, no offense to the South Bronx. Thank Goodness for chivalry!
Maybe chivalry doesn't have to be associated with gender? Maybe we could all just be chivalrous to each other via random acts of kindness? I'll vote yes on that. How about you?
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