And samarai,

There is nothing wrong with your nicer approach. It's admirable.

There are a lot of jerks in this world who just walk over nice people. There are also a lot of people who just need a little polite nudge to do the right thing.

You probably make the world around you a better place and should be saluted too.

However, the lady deserved to have the door let go-- it wasn't like he was letting her fall to her death. If she hadn't been so irrational, she probably would have been able to easily step back or forward or put up an arm to stop it. But she expected him to be a polite nebbish and hold the door while she tore him up.