Originally Posted by
tennisguru
One thing I’ve learned personally as I’ve matured is that a part of being well-rounded emotionally is having the capacity to accept the generosity of others, even when I am not in any form of need. Many times the person being generous (in this case, by buying dinner) gets more satisfaction and enjoyment than the person receiving the generosity. Pushing back against someone trying to be generous robs them of some level of happiness brought by being generous. So in any normal situation I’ve learned to just graciously accept when someone wants to do a kind gesture for me, again even when I am not in any sort of want or need. Obviously there are limits, like I’m not going to let someone ruin their own financial life for my sake, but that’s not what anyone here is talking about.
I'm going to disagree. While I think it's fair and reasonable to insist on buying beverages and, on special occasions (GS or birthdays or probies) meals, I want to pay for my own stuff. It's certainly a kind gesture but, for me, an unwanted one. I believe in a co-equal partnership with the person I'm flying with. If you buy me beers at night, I want to buy you coffee in the morning. I've had several Captains resoundly reject letting me pay for coffee, even on a single occasion. I'm glad some guys really like to, but please, be mature enough to accept that I prefer to split the check.