Chivalry Is Dead, But Sometimes Revives Itself Briefly

Thursday night, my roommates and some friends and I went out to a bar that is notorious for being the watering hole of preppy, yuppie, "young professionals" or so they are sometimes called. I know what you're thinking..."So why in God's name would you go there?" Well, because last time they had a pretty decent live band and we actually had a pretty good time.

Second time around: not so much. It wasn't nearly as crowded as it was previously, which normally would be something I'd prefer. I hate, hate, hate, overcrowded bars where you can't move or breathe and you get someone's elbow to the face or drink spilled on you every time you turn around. Especially when it's one of those crowds where, being a girl, you get looked up and down by every single dude as you're walking through the crowd just trying to find the goddamn bathroom.

So, it wasn't crowded. And it wasn't fun. We found ourselves to be somewhat bored. Out of nowhere, this pretty drunk guy stumbles over and starts asking me if he can buy me a drink, to which I (politely) decline. He is persistent. Won't leave me alone. I'm trying watch the Bruins game on the TV, and there is only so much a girl can take. At one point, I actually turn around to get back to the game, which apparently sets him off. He flips out and starts yelling obscenities at me before storming away. One of my roommates, Ganz, witnessed the entire episode and wants to go after him and punch him, but I convinced her not to. I didn't want her to get kicked out, even though I was significantly shaken up. I can honestly say that I've never been verbally assaulted by a guy just because I rejected him at a bar. It was obscene, and made me feel rather ill.

About twenty minutes later, one of my other roommates arrives with her boyfriend, Dan, who is also one of my good friends and lived with me in London. Ganz is still heated about the situation, and immediately tells them what happened. They are both horrified, and Dan decides he's going to go say something to the Asshole, who is now stumbling around the bar. I am not sure this is a good idea, because I really just wanted to forget about the whole thing, not to mention the guy is about twice Dan's size. But he's determined.

So he approaches the Asshole and taps him on the shoulder. At this point I stopped watching, but a few minutes later, the Asshole comes over to me and apologizes profusely. He offers to buy me a drink (again) to make up for it, but at this point I want nothing more to do with him, so I say no. He leaves.

I thanked Dan over and over, not simply for getting the Asshole to apologize, because frankly I didn't care, but because he was not only willing to "protect" me, if that's even the right word, but determined to do so. I'm not the type of girl that swoons when a guy opens a door for me or picks up the check, but the fact that he certainly didn't have to do it but insisted on doing it anyway really struck me. Most of my guy friends from home, who are practically family to me, probably wouldn't have done the same. Not because they don't care about me as much as Dan does, but because it simply wouldn't have occurred to them. And if it did, they would have taken the guy outside, punched him a couple times in the face, and called it a night. And probably would have gotten arrested in the process. (They are the type of guys that love to get in fights. Obnoxious.)

Moral of the story? Not sure exactly. This is not one of those "hint, hint, guys: this is what you SHOULD be doing" stories. Rather, just an instance that I was touched by and felt it deserved to be shared.

Also, this is what I get for trying to watch a hockey game at a bar. Fuck.