Those Senile Delinquents

I am becoming increasingly annoyed by the rising incidences of senile delinquency. Now, the situation is that some old folks are starting to believe that they have some kind of entitlement to a seat on public transport simply by virtue of the fact that they're old. While I do agree that we all have a duty to protect those weaker than we are, there is a difference between being willing/unwilling to do one's duty, and to have someone arrogantly presume that you need to do your duty for them simply because they expect as much.

Now, what happens when an older person is standing before you on public transport? One's duty would come to the fore if the older person (or any other person, for that matter) shows that they are in greater need of the seat than you are. That, or they can voice it out if they show no external signs of weakness but need the seat regardless. Yet, it irks me to no end if someone simply stands in front of another, expecting that their mere presence would coerce the person into giving up their seat. No cookie, my good chap. The standing around and looking imposing bit is largely my role, thank you very much.

I believe that everyone should do their utmost to be civil in all their public dealings as far as possible. In the event that someone chooses to be uncivil in the manner of standing around expecting things to happen, then expressing displeasure when nothing happens because of their silence, I would put them in their place. Being older folk, I have even greater expectations of them, because they have been around longer than I have and I do expect them to have a greater understanding of what constitutes politeness. I do wish, however, that senile delinquents quit behaving like they do and thus giving other older folk a bad name. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure it's wishful thinking at best on my part.