4 ms·

In reality, you have the right to mouth off to everyone. But, generally not a good choice because if you're mouthing off to everyone, there's a good chance you'

In reality, you have the right to mouth off to everyone. But, generally not a good choice because if you're mouthing off to everyone, there's a good chance you're just a dickhead. Why not just be civil?

MBlume 11y ago
> Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” > and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” > and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay. http://stimmyabby.tumblr.com/post/115216522824/sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean-treating http://stimmyabby.tumblr.com/post/115216522824/sometimes-peo...
- NeutronBoy 11y ago
  > and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” And sometimes, people who think "I'm not going to treat you like an authority" are in fact not treating that authority like a person. It's a very fine line between not respecting authority and not respecting a person. If you disagree with a policeman's authority, the correct way to challenge that is to acknowledge that you disagree with them, and respond in a professional manner - formal complaints, courts, whatever. Not by being difficult to them on the side of the road. If you disagree with their treatment of you (respect like a person), the correct way to deal with that still isn't to argue on the side of the road. If they aren't treating you with respect (as a person), why would you think that getting into a confrontation with them in that environment is going to change their mind? (Have you ever seen a sporting referee change their decision after a player argued with them?)
- jessaustin 11y ago
  The word "respect" is problematic, partially because of this ambiguity. Another problematic aspect is that it inherently sets up a relation between people: it's a transitive verb. To respect someone is to make them somehow important to one's own thought process. (There are cases in which that importance has been earned; a random interaction with police is not such a case.) I try to respect no one, but to be courteous with everyone. Courtesy is a goal to which I can direct myself. Rereading what I just wrote, I recognize it as a very privileged statement. Just the same, we'd live in a better world if everyone could feel that way, if they chose.
frostmatthew 11y ago
> Why not just be civil? I agree that you shouldn't be rude to Police (or better put, you should treat them with the same respect you'd treat anyone else), but it's important that you can be rude. "The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest, is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state." - Justice William J. Brennan Jr.

MBlume 11y ago

> Sometimes people use “respect” to mean “treating someone like a person” and sometimes they use “respect” to mean “treating someone like an authority” > and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” > and they think they’re being fair but they aren’t, and it’s not okay. http://stimmyabby.tumblr.com/post/115216522824/sometimes-people-use-respect-to-mean-treating http://stimmyabby.tumblr.com/post/115216522824/sometimes-peo...

NeutronBoy 11y ago
> and sometimes people who are used to being treated like an authority say “if you won’t respect me I won’t respect you” and they mean “if you won’t treat me like an authority I won’t treat you like a person” And sometimes, people who think "I'm not going to treat you like an authority" are in fact not treating that authority like a person. It's a very fine line between not respecting authority and not respecting a person. If you disagree with a policeman's authority, the correct way to challenge that is to acknowledge that you disagree with them, and respond in a professional manner - formal complaints, courts, whatever. Not by being difficult to them on the side of the road. If you disagree with their treatment of you (respect like a person), the correct way to deal with that still isn't to argue on the side of the road. If they aren't treating you with respect (as a person), why would you think that getting into a confrontation with them in that environment is going to change their mind? (Have you ever seen a sporting referee change their decision after a player argued with them?)
jessaustin 11y ago
The word "respect" is problematic, partially because of this ambiguity. Another problematic aspect is that it inherently sets up a relation between people: it's a transitive verb. To respect someone is to make them somehow important to one's own thought process. (There are cases in which that importance has been earned; a random interaction with police is not such a case.) I try to respect no one, but to be courteous with everyone. Courtesy is a goal to which I can direct myself. Rereading what I just wrote, I recognize it as a very privileged statement. Just the same, we'd live in a better world if everyone could feel that way, if they chose.

frostmatthew 11y ago

> Why not just be civil? I agree that you shouldn't be rude to Police (or better put, you should treat them with the same respect you'd treat anyone else), but it's important that you can be rude. "The freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest, is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state." - Justice William J. Brennan Jr.