I think this world lacks a lot of things and one of those things is respect. Not just respect for oneself but respect for other people. I know people say respect is earned and I suppose it is, just like trust. However, respecting someone isn't just about finding them to be a respectable indivdual who you may admire. It's also about respecting a person's choice to live their life how they see fit and not making unnecessary comments about it, that can be hurtful.
I was thinking about this when I was watching the Bruce Jenner interview on Friday . My mom and I were discussing it during commercial breaks and I said to her that "I don't have to understand what he's doing. I don't have to approve of what he's doing. I don't have to find what he's doing to be acceptable. It doesn't even have to make sense to me, but I do need to give him respect for his choices. Because, in my own life, all I've ever wanted was to be respected and I need to give that same respect back to people. Basically, I've always been judged or ridiculed for something and the only thing I've ever wanted was for people to give me respect and not treat me poorly because I'm shy or because I don't drink. I respect your choices and all I ask in return is that you respect mine. Same goes for Bruce Jenner and people like him. We all have something that makes us different and we shouldn't be treated poorly or disrespected because of it.
I don't really understand the transgender thing, or what it's like to be attracted to the same gender, or some of the things straight people partake in, or a good portion of what people in this world do or think. But I like I said, I don't have to understand it or even accept it, but I do have to respect it. They have the right to live their lives how they see fit and if it makes them happy, who am I to tell them they're wrong? I'm no one, just a person who also wants to be respected and tries her very best to treat people the way she wants to be treated.
I know people will argue that we have freedom of speech, but I sometimes believe people like to hide behind that because they feel it gives them a green light to be a jackass for no reason. I'm here to tell you, that is not what freedom of speech is for. No one is telling you to befriend a gay person and invite them to lunch, but what I am telling you is that you need give them respect. I promise if someone called you names for being straight and made you feel bad for who you loved, you wouldn't like it all that much and neither do they. So, respect that who they love is different than who you love and leave it at that.
You don't have to approve of a woman aborting her baby or tell her how brave she is for making such a tough choice, but you do have to respect the choice she made. Especially, since it's her body and you don't know how she got pregnant in the first place and the circumstances surrounding it. So, standing there calling her a baby killer and other horrible names for a choice that would be very difficult for anyone, is not right. Fact is, we all make eleventh hour choices at one time in life.
My point is, we would be just a little bit better off if we just let people be who they are and respect the choices they make. I know how people here like to twist people's words, my own Grandma has turned word twisting into an art form. I'm not saying if a guy decides to go into a liquor store and shoot the cashier and all the customers just for the hell of it, that you need to respect that choice. Obviously, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, people who are gay, transgender, shy, don't drink or choose to wait to have sex, etc etc. Those are things you don't have to understand but you do have to respect. You want people to respect you for your choices. You need to respect others for theirs. That's what I am saying.
Most Helpful Opinions