Become a Gentleman thread

[Steve]

If you want to know what the definition of a Gentleman is from the man who really defines the term, the Southern Gentleman himself, study what General Robert E. Lee said about it:

Definition of a Gentleman - "The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly -- the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light. The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others."
General Robert E. Lee, C.S.A

"Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."​

How one dresses, knowing which fork to use with what course, etc., is what comes from being a Gentleman. They are the effect, and not the cause. They are the outworkings of one who has respect for himself and for those around him. Putting on the trappings of a Gentleman, while not following the words of General Lee results in what we see in modern-day Hollywood actors - crude boors, so filled with their own sense of ego that no real person could stand to be around them. Money can't make a Gentleman any more than the lack of it can take that title away.

This thread (and others like it) is the reason I came here. If you want to know what a Gentleman really is, then hold up a real Southern Gentleman as your model - General Robert E. Lee.

Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Well said. If you think about it, the true gentleman were always from the South. The southern gents were always held up in film and elsewhere. Their sense of character and propriety is what I strive for.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Sorry, when the words "southern gentleman" are used, i can't help thinking of foghorn leghorn. Surely the true gentlemen are in England?

bk

 

[jamespowers]

Sorry, when the words "southern gentleman" are used, i can't help thinking of foghorn leghorn. Surely the true gentlemen are in England?

Nah too sissy boy to be a gentleman. You at least have to have some semblance of manhood. Just think of Prince Charles and you'll understand. Spike Jones is another one.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Bebop]

Nah too sissy boy to be a gentleman. You at least have to have some semblance of manhood. Just think of Prince Charles and you'll understand. Spike Jones is another one.

Regards to all,

J

I disagree. British men have always been THE gentelmen. The sissy boy thing is something only we in some parts of the United States of Testosteron think is "sissy boy". Prince Charles with a dash of James Bond, although J.B. can be crude at times, is the epitome of being a gentleman. What American men and women think of gentlemen is quite different than what men and women in other countries think of as gentlemen. The ability to be crude, rude, hard, soft, funny, and serious at the right time is part of what makes the gentleman. I am sure we don't get the real Charles when we experience Prince Charles.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Absolutely. Charles talks to plants. Plants!

He couldn't be less of a gentleman, by the way. He treated his wife like cr*p, had many, many affairs, and is one of the most pompous individuals i've ever had the displeasure to encounter ( as is william, his son, who i've only met on the sports field). And he likes to brutally kill small furry animals with dogs, while claiming to love the ecosystem. Less of a gentleman i cannot think of.

bk

 

[shamus]

talking to plants is suppose to help the plants grow. Unless you use ugly words, then it might not help them.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

might as well dance around a fire to make it rain while we're at it.

bk

 

[BellyTank]

Why is it that so many American men think British men are sissies..?
...inferiority complex..?

Don't forget the ancestors...

B
T

 

[scotrace]

No Nation or Region Has Claims on Gentlemen

I submit that gentlemanly behavior transcends geography. There are Gentlemen in all places and in all times, just as there are scoundrels. I'm certain that Boston has produced as great a share of gentlemen as Natchez. The Biritish Isles can name as many men of polish and snap as Paris or Berlin. There are gentlemen in Baghdad and Tokyo (a painfully mannered society), in Denmark and Canada.
Probably the only place that can claim a high percentage of gentlemen is that borderless land called The Fedora Lounge.

 

[scotrace]

Why is it that so many American men think British men are sissies..?
...inferiority complex..?

Don't forget the ancestors...

B
T

There are a few in cabins and crispy shirtsleeves who think so.

Remember Gallipoli. Hardly sissies.

 

[Section10]

Prince Charles talks to plants? Well, good for him. I never knew that.

 

[BellyTank]

... and in London I have encountered many 'Gentlemen' with no manners at all.

Aristocratic lineage, 'good breeding' and money definitely don't ensure good manners. I remember a Tweed-clad chap on the train from London to Oxford one day, who surely thought of himself as a 'Gentleman' but this didn't stop him from holding his newspaper outstretched across me and flicking it in my face whilst making all manner of disgusting throat/nose clearing sounds. Quite often, the aristocratic types we (I...) encounter, or those with 'good breeding' have led such sheltered, (privelidged) lives that they are complete social inepts and totally ignorant of others...

B
T

 

[BellyTank]

Prince Charles talks to plants? Well, good for him. I never knew that.

...he does it because they don't talk back...

Prince Phillip is the true Royal idiot... always putting his racist/generally ignorant hoof in his mouth whenever commenting publicly.

B
T

 

[Section10]

:cheers1:

 

[BellyTank]

...and some people just never learn.

B
T

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Aristocratic lineage, 'good breeding' and money definitely don't ensure good manners. I remember a Tweed-clad chap on the train from London to Oxford one day, who surely thought of himself as a 'Gentleman' but this didn't stop him from holding his newspaper outstretched across me and flicking it in my face whilst making all manner of disgusting throat/nose clearing sounds. Quite often, the aristocratic types we (I...) encounter, or those with 'good breeding' have led such sheltered, (privelidged) lives that they are complete social inepts and totally ignorant of others...

B
T

Well, the paper thing is no longer a problem, right? Berliner, here we come! I wonder how the old Tories have taken to The Times no longer being broadsheet? Some sort of corruption of British values, no doubt. I'm afraid the throat clearing will never cease, old chap.

On the aristocrat vs. gentleman thing. It seems to be the same worldwide. These guys are so isolated from any conception of reality that they truly do not understand that there are things one shouldn't say (thinks: Phil the Greek and his Indian electricians) or do (thinks: ex-Purdue professor and Nixon Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz and his terrible publicly aired racism). They'd be out whipping peasants at the drop of a hat. And the British royal family actually believes that they are entitled! to the millions of pounds they receive each year from the tax-payer. Aristocracy is an anachronism. Gentlemanliness is something still to be strived for.

Thus spake the anti-royalist.

bk

 

[Bebop]

Absolutely. Charles talks to plants. Plants!

He couldn't be less of a gentleman, by the way. He treated his wife like cr*p, had many, many affairs, and is one of the most pompous individuals i've ever had the displeasure to encounter ( as is william, his son, who i've only met on the sports field). And he likes to brutally kill small furry animals with dogs, while claiming to love the ecosystem. Less of a gentleman i cannot think of.

bk

You don't like how Prince Charles treated his wife, you think he is pompous, you don't like his son, and you don't like the fact that he kills animals with dogs. What does any of that have to do with being a gentleman? In other words, if you cheat on your wife, are pompous, have an ill mannered son, and enjoy hunting you are not a gentleman? I venture to guess that if that were true, many of the people you consider gentlemen would indeed not be gentlemen at all. If that were the standard, with the addition of talking to plants, you would not find too many gentlemen.

 

[BellyTank]

...Phil the Greek and his Indian electricians)

bk

Funny you should say that Baron- I refer to him as 'Phil the Greek' too- didn't know that was the done thing. And the "...looks like an Indian made it..." comment was the one that immediately sprang to mind- but don't forget the comments about issuing drivers' licenses to the Chinese('can they see well enough...') and don't forget the Scots...:hamburger


Mrs Betty Windsor.

 

[Steve]

Why is it that so many American men think British men are sissies..?
...inferiority complex..?

Don't forget the ancestors...

B
T

Eh, we whupped 'em in 77 and by golly we could do it again.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

You don't like how Prince Charles treated his wife, you think he is pompous, you don't like his son, and you don't like the fact that he kills animals with dogs. What does any of that have to do with being a gentleman? In other words, if you cheat on your wife, are pompous, have an ill mannered son, and enjoy hunting you are not a gentleman? I venture to guess that if that were true, many of the people you consider gentlemen would indeed not be gentlemen at all. If that were the standard, with the addition of talking to plants, you would not find too many gentlemen.

Exactly. We're in agreement.:cheers1:

This is why you don't find too many genltemen. Pomposity is one of the surest signs of ungentlemanliness (i think i made that word up). A gentleman should treat his wife and all other people with respect, not destroy/belittle them as Charles did. What his sons do is no reflection on Charles. It simply shows how little of a gentleman the future prince of Wales is. We must avoid the public face of these people and look at how they interact with real people on those few occasions when they meet them ...

bk