Oh… you don’t need the text. Even if you are one of these folks who never holds the door for others, you know why I have chosen Unpopular Opinion for this. And if you are a person who does hold the door, you have had the door dropped in your face enough to know this is an unpopular opinion.
Yes, I was taught to always hold the door. I will hold the door for you if you are even ten, twelve or fifteen feet back. It is polite to hustle a little if you are at that fifteen foot extreme.
I like a little courtesy in our world. I like the brief hello with a complete stranger that accompanies most of these events.
It’s just a nice thing to do. It’s polite.
To the several people who dropped the door in my face today… try holding it. You won’t make a friend, but you will feel like you did something kind for a stranger.
If the person is directly behind me, I’ll keep the door open while simultaneously walking through the doorway (I don’t stop and wait) so that the door at least doesn’t close in their face. They still have to grab the door to prevent it from closing though.
I really don’t like standing still and holding the door open and making the people who were behind me go ahead of me. And I hate when someone does that to me. It feels like a very antiquated and patronizing gesture.
The polite thing to do if you are that second person is to take the door and hold it for the next person who then should take it and so on.