Accused of being rude

On my way home the other day, I sat down in my seat on the plane.  A few minutes later a man sit down beside me.  He wants to put down the arm rest which is fine, but now you have defined the boundaries for our seats and I expect you to stay on your side.

Well he flares out his arms and his elbows poke me in the side.  I am a fairly large person, but not large enough that my sides are hitting the arm rest.  I tell him to stay on his side.  He says what?  I repeat myself then tell him that if he does not like that I do not care.  He starts about look where my shoulders are, they are on my side.  I point out to him that this is the boundary and you get half of the arm rest.  You do not get to put your elbows into my sides.

Next he accuses me of being rude.  I tell him that he really should understand what he is talking about before he starts going down that path.

Lets look at some definitions:

rude: not having or showing concern or respect for the rights and feelings of other people, not polite.

blunt: saying or expressing something in a very direct way that may upset some people

direct: o point, extend, or project in a specified line or course

It was not rude, but being blunt and/or direct.  The rude action was the thought that you deserve on a plane to spread out your arms to the point where they are hurting others.  If someone expects me to say please stop putting your elbows into my sides or stop hurting me, then think again.  Do not do it to begin with.  Be considerate of those around you and then maybe myself and/or others would not reach the way we do.

After this encounter, I start to smell this awful smell and actually look at the man for the first time.  He is Indian, from India.  Sorry that is rude, to have a smell like that in such a confined space that is offensive to the people around you.

Some of you may disagree with me, and that is the beauty of this country. You have the right to disagree.  Here is the real question that I asked myself afterwards, was it Christian of me to act this way?  I honestly do not know.

I was torn between a couple of versus, but the one that popped into my head the most was this one:

Matthew 5:38-40 New International Version (NIV)

Eye for Eye

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

I was not seeking an eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth.  I was seeking for this man to remove his elbows from my sides.  When he refused to do that, I did call him a not so nice name and then sat back and flared my elbows out.  I did this to basically push his elbows out of my sides, not to hurt him in anyway shape or form.

My point here is think of your actions before you do them.  You may get a response from someone you do not like.

Updated: August 2, 2016 — 2:45 am