What is Respect?
Added 2023-11-18 15:15:44 +0000 UTCWe had an interesting conversation on Threads and Instagram this week about respect. I called out that it feels like oftentimes when men speak about respect it’s a different definition of that word than what others mean when we use the word.
There’s a very toxic use of the word respect that indicates the person does not want to be questioned. They want to be “respected” by being deferred to and their wishes always considered by default, due to their status in life.
On the other hand, when I say I want respect, I mean I deserve to be treated as a whole person, not a thing. I deserve emotional and physical safety, not being used and manipulated and lied to and controlled or otherwise harmed.
These two opposing concepts of respect are indicative of very different life experiences.
Someone in the comments somewhere on social media said that respect has to be earned. That is simply not true unless the only understood definition of respect is the feeling of admiration of a person based on their personal qualities and achievements. If this is someone’s primary definition of respect… that says something.
It’s important to realize how many people in the world are still asking for a basic level of respect and human empathy; regard for our rights, feelings, autonomy, and safety. There is so much work to be done so that every human is respected in this way.
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Comments
Glad I recently found you on twitter. Enjoy your posts and perspectives.
2023-12-07 16:34:06 +0000 UTCWhat I learned from behavior I saw modeled growing up in a religious environment was a lot of acting as if better than, only later to learn in my own development that is a nasty defense mechanism in an attempt to avoid dealing with the awareness of no matter how smart, beautiful, rich or powerful, being a limited imperfect vulnerable human being. It can seem easier to act better than others instead of accepting all being valuable and worthy as fellow humans.
Robert Boyd
2023-11-29 03:34:50 +0000 UTC
