Modern Misuse of An Old Fashioned Word: Gentleman

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Nothing gets my panties in a humongous wad like when I hear the term gentleman being misused and tossed around so cavalier today. It's like society has had some big brain fart in the past 40 years or so and forgotten what defines a gentleman. Here's some cringe worthy, misplaced examples of the term that I've heard in the news during this past week:

*A woman on Oprah who adopted a child from Haiti talked about an incident with a "gentleman" who "stared so intently" at her daughter with disgust like he did not approve of a white couple adopting a child of color.

*A woman who recognized a census worker at her door as a sex offender referred to the creep as a gentleman when describing the incident on Good Morning America.

*From a police report: "When police entered the gentleman's home, they discovered numerous human body parts in the freezer."


SCREEEECH!!! No, no, no! This won't do! (And by the way, I made up that last one just to prove a point.) Anyone who commits a crime - especially those that sexually violate or physically hurt others - is NOT, I repeat, NOT, a gentleman! A man who does not treat others with respect is NOT a gentleman. Someone who brags about his sexual escapades and himself in general is NOT a gentleman. When will the media, law enforcement, and the general public get this???

A gentleman, is, in fact, someone who is truly gentle - duh. Who knew. Thanks for putting up with the public service announcement.

12 comments:

  1. Or, or, or the term "gentleman's club!" Back when I was a kid, those were simply called "strip joints!"

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  2. I agree, I miss those real old gentlemen *sigh*

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  3. Those were definitely inappropriate times to be using the word gentleman. I would love to have one as a boyfriend. I wonder if there are any still out there. My last one ten years ago was pretty self centered at times especially during the last 6 months of our relationship.

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  4. Sorry to hear that, LaraAnn. I'm trying to psych myself up for online dating again and think positively that there must be gentlemen still left in the world. There has to be...

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  5. As I see it, the true definition of a gentleman is John Steed from The Avengers. The best people like me can hope for is to be a pale imitation of the great man. :)

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  6. Hello, so good.

    I'm from Brazil and would like to know from you whether we can find the disks that
    you posted the cover as "bad covers" to download.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello, so good.

    I'm from Brazil and would like to know from you whether we can find the disks that
    you posted the cover as "bad covers" to download.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good luck with the online dating. I hope that you find a nice guy. I'm trying not to dwell on the negatives of that last relationship.

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  9. Anonymous - which ones? Many of the older ones are no longer in print...I would Google a specific title to see if you can download them somewhere. Good luck.

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  10. Thanks, LaraAnn. I totally believe in staying positive!

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  11. I guess because of its quaintness it's only used ironically now, kind of like "classy" or "upscale." Whenever I hear those words, I know they mean the opposite.

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  12. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

    a : a man of noble or gentle birth b : a man belonging to the landed gentry c (1) : a man who combines gentle birth or rank with chivalrous qualities (2) : a man whose conduct conforms to a high standard of propriety or correct behavior d (1) : a man of independent means who does not engage in any occupation or profession for gain (2) : a man who does not engage in a menial occupation or in manual labor for gain

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