*****
Chivalry died for me when I realized that knights of ol' were not the good, helping, noble and honorable idealistic men that were told to me from stories and Hollywood movies. They were there for footman support, heavy charges to flanks, being a mobile force multiplier that couldn't be matched, and stopping power (not to mention political and social status).
Chivalry is dead because it was never alive to begin with. Chivalry is about as real as the honorable, hard only because he has to be, lonely captain of a pirate ship in those soft-porn novels that are marketed to women as "romance" novels. He didn't rescue a lady he picked up during a raid because he fell in love with her, he did it so he could rape the shit out of her then let his crew have their way with her he was done.
Good-manners? Being kind to your neighbor? The "Good Samaritan"? That shit is dead too. Everyone does something for a reason that revolves around their own need.
This is also coming from a person who held deep in his heart that he should always be kind/nice to women, be kind to strangers, act always with good intentions, and be the good-natured person he was raised to be. I learned the hard way that's a great way to become footstool if you expect people to treat you how you treat them.
/endbitterlittlemanrant