> So I tend to disagree about "don't be a jerk" and "respect is earned" being opposites. Would it make sense to not respect people one doesn’t know anything ab

> So I tend to disagree about "don't be a jerk" and "respect is earned" being opposites. Would it make sense to not respect people one doesn’t know anything about, and at the same time, not be a jerk? Respect is not “earned”, as it is one of the basic pillars of society. If the author used “respect” in the sense of admiring someone’s achievements, then the statement is a truism and thus useless anyway.