Respect

Growing up, I became a hardcore videogame buff. Almost an addict, one would say. Throughout my youth, I played, mastered & quickly became bored of countless games, of various genres, evolving from the Super Nintendo system to the now obsolete PlayStation 2. To this day, one of my favorite games on the latter format has been, & still is, Def Jam Fight for New York. Not to delve to deep into the story, you play a character (that you create), which is required to fight his way through various venues in the city of New York, in order to earn cash, developmental points &, ultimately, respect. During the story, the boss that you fight for, the aptly named “D-Mob” chisels into your mind that same word, respect, & that it should never be confused with fear. He went on to state “A beaten dog might fear his master, but the second he turns his back, he’ll take a bite outta his ass. Real power comes from RESPECT”.
The word is defined as “a sense of holding esteem or high regard for someone, based on a character trait, physical ability, emotional state or so on”. The world is full of people who are respected & people who are feared, but often these two sub-groups tend to fall under one category. These are two different things that are misinterpreted as the same, due to ignorance, indifference or what not, so allow me to “break it down for ya”.
Throughout history, people, and/or groups of people, have been feared for various reasons. They’ve been held in high regard, but in a sense of always hoping to appease them, for fear of getting on their bad side. These folks, mistaking the sense of apprehension that they give off, or even knowing it very well, continue upon the same path, believing that it will lead them to what they want. The problem is that fear does not win respect. It simply gains mistrust & ultimately, acrimony from every individual whose paths they’ve crossed. As in the aforesaid quote, the second they turn their backs, a bite will be taken out of their asses.
With respect, however, it’s a whole new ballgame. Respect is earned. It’s neither beaten out of someone nor is it intimidated out of someone through the threat of violence or other things of that nature. It is recognition of ones ability to accomplish an act or achieve a certain feat, based on merit alone. It is a momentary bowing of one’s self before another & stating that you fleetingly admire them for their ability, personality or what not. This short moment of admiration leads to a further development of relations between the specific individual & those around him.
However, in life, there’s always a wild card, a singularity in a usually predictable pattern that stands out. In regards to respect, it falls under two categories. There’re those who seem to be able to earn respect without really doing anything or displaying one iota of their inner personality; or those who, regardless of how many times or how hard they try, can’t seem to get any respect. However, neither group can ever really achieve the respect that they either deserve or desire. The problem with respect, like any other emotional state in the distorted mind of humanity, is that respect from others can never really be fully received or appreciated without self-respect. A person can not be respected by others if he is not respect by himself. All the respect in the world from all the people in the world means nothing, unless it is lead by the respect of the most important person, you. Once that self-respect can be achieved & realized, then anything else is almost irrelevant. Whether the whole wide world loves you or hates you, as long as you have confidence in who you are what you’re capable of & what you can accomplish, then everything else is irrelevant.
Aretha Franklin sang “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me…”, constantly singing about the need for those around her, who’ve constantly underestimated her to simply, turn around, look at her & see her for her worth. It’s asking for an act of re-evaluation. Ultimately, we all need that & only then, can we understand the need for respect, in it’s truest sense of the word. R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!!!!!