I was supposed to make this post about two hours ago, but I was watching the Barcelona vs. Dortmund match, and now I’m even sad because I keep wondering what was going through the Barca players’ heads for them to play like that today.
Anyway, let me just focus on what I’m here to talk about. My mom has this joke she normally makes of me by calling me “American baby” because she realized that although she raised my brothers and me the same way, I just happen to be very different.
And when I say different, I mean don’t see why I have to apologize to people when they are the ones who offended me, especially those who are older than me. In this part of the world, it has been made to look like old people are always right, and when you are young, you can’t be wise. So each time there’s an issue involving a young person and an older person, it is expected of the young person to just apologize, whether he is wrong or right.
At this point, with all that I’ve said above, I’m sure it’s very clear that I have a very different opinion when it comes to this. And someway, somehow, I’ve managed to unlearn this even though that’s what I was taught right from childhood.
One time in primary school, my uncle did something to me, and I hated it, so I reacted. I don’t remember what exactly he did, but I remember he also got angry after that reaction of mine. My mom told me several times to apologize, and each time she did, I told her to ask my uncle to also apologize because he actually offended me in the first place.
For about a week, my uncle was buying almost all the nice things in the world for my brothers and not really minding me. And all he wanted from me was an apology. All that time, I had also made up my mind that nothing on this earth was going to make me say sorry to someone who rather offended me.
And it’s even funny how my encounter with my German cousin even worsened the whole case and grounded that thought I had. I recall going to spend the vacation with my aunt and her family one particular summer, and while I was there, each time my aunt offended my cousin, she said sorry. I was surprised at first, but then it was really a nice thing to watch, and automatically I just officially unlearned all that “elder people are always right” lesson I had in mind.
Now that I’m older, it’s even more serious because I expect everyone to take accountability for their actions, whether young or old. If I offend someone, I always make sure to apologize no matter their age, and I expect the same. And for me, I just think that’s the right thing to do.
Image is mine