It's easy to slap some people down. Little kids, poor people, beggars, the handicapped, foreigners, old people, minorities ... the list goes on. Sit down and shut up and be grateful for what you have. What do you know? Who asked you? You should be seen and not heard. Those are things we say -- or maybe have had said to us. That's assuming the person in question isn't being ignored into oblivion. We sinful human beings sometimes waver between abusing and ignoring someone who offends, disturbs, or makes us uncomfortable. 

Ironically, sometimes it's not much better when we try to act charitably! You've heard the story of the frail old woman standing at the street corner. A gallant young man takes her by the arm and propels her across the street, brushing off her feeble protests. Safely on t…