Open-door policy?

Today’s deep(ish) thought involves another thing I (probably needlessly) worry about — if or when to hold the door open for the person behind me.

But first things first — the people have spoken. Last week’s poll on intended and unintended puns. I was very surprised by the winning option: Pardon the pun. I personally thought of “Excuse the pun” originally, but Google told me “Pardon the pun” is more common on the intertubez at least. @Dangoss on Twitter posited that the pun was unintended, it’s the publishing of the pun that is intended.

So will I say “Pardon the pun?” I’ll definitely consider it the next time it comes up (probably within the next two minutes, knowing me!).

Now that that’s settled, this week’s Deep(ish) thought —

I’m a polite person IRL, in spite of my angry, sometimes profanity-filled tweets against the establishment. People have told me that I’m too polite.

If I see someone is walking close behind me, my reflex is to wait and hold the door open for them. No matter what gender they are.

Does it mean I don’t think they can open the door? No. The problem is that when I open a door for a guy, they probably aren’t thinking “What a jerk — does he really think I can’t open the door myself?!”

But I know some women *do* think that when a man opens a door for them. I’ve heard it from a few women I know (not directed at me, afaik, but as a general observation) and seen it on the web too.

After millennia of being treated like sh*t, being called “the weaker sex”, the “little lady”, and much worse, I might not want to be reminded of this every time I go through a door either. And there is no way to say “I am an equal-opportunity door-opener”. That would only make things worse, I assume.

So maybe I should just stop holding doors open?

But, on the other hand, what if I’m *right* in front of someone, and the door is actually going to close on them if I don’t hold it open. Doesn’t it seem rude to not hold it open? So now I’ve gone to potential pissing off one group of people and pissing off everyone. Do I need to calculate just how far away they are to determine whether I should or shouldn’t hold it open?!

What say ye? Here’s a Twitter poll I’ve started on the subject. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 🙄😁

<Click above or here to vote in the POLL>

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