A Community of Individuals

Folks, we practically have an epidemic on our hands.

It seems that there is an affliction that can be caught by merely seeing an infected individual at the right time of day. It creeps into your system, initially seeming benign. But it is a REAL threat to your well-being, and the well-being of those around you!

So I am here to put an end to it, and say:

STOP HOLDING THE DOOR OPEN FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIGHT YEARS AWAY!

As far as I can tell, this behavior seems to have spread to almost everyone in the West Los Angeles area if not everywhere.

HERE: It is polite to hold the door open for the people in your party. It is polite to hold the door open for the young, the old, and the disabled. It is wonderfully generous of you to hold the door open for someone who is carrying packages, or is in any other way going to have a challenging time getting through the door. I also believe there are perfectly good reasons to hold the door open for a stranger if they are coming through at more or less the same time as you. I am not trying to compel you to act rudely.

THERE: What I have witnessed, and what I am witnessing more and more, is people putting themselves out holding open doors for long amounts of time waiting for fully self-capable people to traverse unreasonably long distances to take advantage of their "kindness". Often times the "fortunate" person who the door is being held for even feels obliged to hurry up or even jog/run to the door so as to not inconvenience the person who so desperately is trying to provide a convenience for them. "He's going so far out of his way to help me out that I should go out of my way to make sure him going out of his way is as little out of his way as possible :)".

Just add John Cleese and you've got the next great Monty Python sketch.

And when all said and done these poor saps more often than not give each other a "heartfelt" nod for being so thoughtful and selfless. Selfless?! Guy #1 just made this Guy #2 run to a door which he normally would have just mosey'd up to, opened and walked on through without giving it so much as a second thought!

What's the harm? I assure you there is harm in this. If you are interested give me a buzz, but I won't pollute this space at this time with the details.

So, please, Please, please... the next time you are at a doorway, think of me, and don't give that self-righteous atomaton holding the door open for you at 30 paces one ounce of hurry up. And if that atomaton is you, please, think of me, and set yourself free...


THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT