Too Macho To Be Polite? [OPINION]

Growing up my parents taught me right from wrong and they also taught me to be polite.  Needless to say I am human.  That being said, I am almost always polite and respectful especially to ladies but also to men.

Christmas Eve I had occasion to walk into a local business or two and hold a door open for a number of both men and women who were nice enough to say ‘thank you’ to which I replied ‘you’re welcome’.  Notice I said, ‘you’re welcome’ not ‘no problem’.  But that’s another story!

My last stop of the day involved a business with a line that extended onto the sidewalk so there was no door holding going into the establishment.  On the way out with a substantial size package in hand I held the door open for burly size man of about my age.  He proceeded to breeze by me as if I were a doorstop!  30 years ago I would either have tripped him or made a comment that probably would have resulted in some un-pleasantries.  I was dumbstruck!  What a clod.  It’s not like the package in my hands was any smaller than the one in his hands.  It’s not like I was in less of a rush than he was.

Maybe he was a foreigner and didn’t speak English?  He might have found it hard to believe that I, a crass American at least understood ‘thank you’ in a few languages including French, German and Spanish.  Of course if he was that much of a foreigner how did he conduct business in the same English speaking establishment as I a moment ago?

Was this clod too macho to admit that another man had held a door open for him?  If that were the case why didn’t he just wait until I walked off and then he could have pushed the door open with his wide load derrière and been on his merry macho way!

Come on guys if another guy holds a door open for you and you walk through it be man enough to say ‘thank you’ or say ‘no thanks, I’ll open my own door’.