Respect has to be earned. Not by age.

I believe everyone deserves respect, the level of it does not depends on how old or young you are, how *well* you do in life in whichever area it is, how much good or bad things you do. Everyone deserves being treat with respect.

With one exception: You do not deserve my respect if you are being disrespectful to me and others.



I respect my elders in my family, I always listen to what they say, I even *idolize* them when I was younger because I used to believe the elders' words are always right. But recently, maybe since one or two years ago, my view on this changes.

I start to feel that I and other family members are being treated with lack of respect by them. It's not about what kinds of things they have done to the house, to the family, how much money they support us in different way, how nice they gave birth to my parent or what old age they are at so that they deserve my respect. I'm thankful for whatever things they have done, truly. They had already earned my respect since long time ago, they got it all, they were my idols, but they lost it all now! How?

I had learned to believe that for anyone to earn respect from me, first and forth most is to be respectful to me and others. Arrogant does not last a person long, people do not like arrogance in people. No one is right all the time, no one is obligate to do what others said, no one is to be control by anyone. If the only thing they have in their old minds is "I'm old, I am lived to be respected, and you just have to do that even tho I treat you like shit and talk shit about you." Sorry, you have lost my respect, forever.

They just don't respect me and others as human, period. This has turned me off from them slowly, and I'm now completely turned off now that they have pushed me off the edge, I'm out of here. In this case, I can no longer treat them well like I could have because I do not want to be close to a disrespectful person, let alone love them the way it should be.

I cannot believe I have just been told because I'm younger than them (*little young girl* I was called) and they are the seniors, so I do not need to be respect by them, can be called by nasty names, can be shout at, or beat up. They do not even care that I'm sad and feeling disrespected, I have to respect them and listen to them, just because they gave birth and raise me, and just because I'm younger than them.

These seniors do not deserve my respect and love. I am stating this here and now. No matter how old, how much seniority above me you are, if you don't even know how to respect others, you do not earn my respect. and sorry to say this, I think if at this age you still don't know how to be respectful to others, you have wasted yourself a lifetime. Period.



Searching online about this topic, I came across these very interesting comments that I can related to:

"...just because you're young doesn't mean the elders don't need to respect you. If one doesn't earn the respect, one will not get it."

"No Elders are not always right . We should respect them but not supposed to listen to all advice except those would be helpful."

"Length of living is not an apt criteria for judging whether a person is good or bad. His deeds during this period counts more... he has to earn his name"

"Respect is earned by how you treat others, it isn't something passed out after you reach a certain age."