Respect

You don’t have to respect someone to show them respect. I used to be under the impression that respect was to be earned. I don’t see it that way anymore. I picked up that observation here in prison. You have people inside these walls who probably cannot stand each other for one reason or another but respect is still given for the purpose of keeping order and respecting personal space and boundaries. I believe trust is something that should be earned and not given away but I can’t say that respect falls into that category anymore.

When I make observations like that I try to think back to when I was free. I ask myself, “Was respect given all of the time no matter how I felt about whomever personally?” The answer is usually, “N0.” when I go down memory lane with those people in mind (those I did not show respect to), I can vividly see where unnecessary problems took place. Fundamentally, I think that the destruction of most of my relationships came from a lack of respect on my behalf. I used to think that the whole world had to bow down and pay homage to me because of whom I was and where I came from. Crazy, huh?

Showing respect to others no matter how you feel about them personally goes a long way. Ninety-nine percent of the time people will give you the same respect you give to them. It is a natural feeling to want to be treated like a human being. Respect keeps order and order is necessary in every culture. It is my suggestion to those with attitudes like I had, prior to incarceration, make showing respect to everyone mandatory. Life is a little easier to manage that way.

Advertisement