Of course I certainly don’t want to knock down any sacred cows, but the past few years have shown me that a certain tilt has arisen in today’s society. Whether you’re standing at the bakery, or in line at the checkout of the local supermarket, the ‘Benidorm Bastards’ in 2023, don’t take it too closely with today’s norms and values.

Counter

I was once a branch manager at a liquorshop in the past. This store had lost its luster over the years, and I had the great opportunity to make this store flourish again. I like making something out of nothing. I had made a whole plan, and I put a lot of time and energy into offering service. Over time, that paid off. People stood in a long line with us to buy a beautifully wrapped product.

Invariably, an old couple came in two minutes before closing time on Saturdays. She always just came from the hairdresser next to us, and mister in a three-piece suit. They must have been about ninety years old. Cute. But they did shuffle straight through to the counter every Saturday, so they skipped that whole line of people who had been waiting for their turn for quite some time, and if there were any comments from that line, you should hear them. From cute to aso in two seconds. Like I said: Benidorm bastards.

Whether they knew that they owed her freedom to them, and that they didn’t have to speak German thanks to that generation. That they could wait two seconds, because they had worked so hard all their lives. That the people who commented would have no morals and values. You will understand that after the umpteenth incident, I gave these people a neat spot in that row.

Tram

A few years ago I was sitting on the tram and suddenly, out of the blue, I was not asked, but summoned to get up, because the lady -65 years old, and certainly not a day older- had been standing all her life. I laughed scornfully and then kindly declined, because there was still enough space in the entire tram. It’s not about getting up, what if there had been no place in the tram I would certainly have got up, but then it becomes a matter of principle.

When I pointed out all those other places in the tram where she could have sat, she made it clear that I could also sit there. It soon became clear to me that the lady obviously simply had little feeling for sitting next to someone who had a different color or religion. Because besides that, there was still plenty of room. So she stayed the whole way. Fine.

It’s not that I don’t have any norms and values, but it could be a bit more subtle. If the lady had asked me, it would have been a completely different situation. But because the lady told me to get up, I refused. It is no longer about the content, but more about the form.

The youth of today

Of course, norms and values are hard to find in today’s society, but that cannot only be attributed to the youth. I have a daughter of almost seventeen, who has really had an education, she will stand up for the elderly if necessary. And I’m sure I’m not the only parent who has given his child the right norms and values.

Society has hardened over the years, and that affects all of us, but it just strikes me that today’s youth seems to have more respect for the elderly than the other way around, and what effect does the grumbling elderly person have on the youth of today?

Those elderly people who are clearly without norms and values  also argue about the slightest things. Feel ‘tackled’ more quickly, and react almost aggressively if you address them about their behavior.

They always talk about ‘the youth of today’, but these Benidorm bastards are no better themselves…

Sigh… The elderly of today