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Where is the respect?

When I was growing up as a child, I was taught respect. My mother told me that respect was something that you had to earn. In order to get respect you need to give it. She also said that respect has many different aspects. This is a list of rules that are taught in my family. This may not be the whole list, but it’s good enough. To some of you, this might sound weird and crazy, but where I come from, it is well understood.

1. When entering a room where people are, or just a house period, you are to speak!

2. If there are any elderly people around you, give them the utmost respect! This means no cursing around them.

3. Before sleeping over at a friend’s house, make sure you ask their parents for permission!

4. You should always say “yes ma’am” “no ma’am,” or “yes sir” “no sir.”

5. “Thank you” should always remain in your vocabulary.

Upon arriving at Grambling State University, I encountered some of the rudest people I had ever seen in my life. I am aware that I come from a small country town in Mississippi, but I feel that where I come from shouldn’t be a reason for being exposed to disrespectful people.

There have been many times where I have smiled at people and got nothing back in return. When things like this happen, I feel very disrespected! And this is because of where I come from.

I know that we come from many different places and many different backgrounds. I have also come to find that a lot of people are just plain rude! But there is a difference between being rude and just respecting people.

One of the reasons African Americans get stereotyped is because of the lack of respect we have, not only for others, but also for ourselves. If we all could just pay more attention to the way we act, everything would be much better.

When a female goes to the club, and she is dressed like a prostitute, she will probably be treated like one. But then she gets mad at the fact that a guy has touched her. Why get mad? You’re wearing a bikini top with a miniskirt. Your attire is screaming, “Touch Me!” It’s your fault! You can’t get mad at the guy because he is just that, a guy!

All I’m saying is that even though we all were raised differently, we all want to be respected. Let’s change the stereotypes. But to change them, we must first start with ourselves.

Carry yourself the way you would like to be treated! Respect yourself first before anyone else can. If we could all respect one another, I think the world would be much better.