Back in 2011 I wrote a blog post titled “Respect For Respect’s Sake” detailing the reasons why a request for respect without good reason is invalid and not worthy of consideration. Over the weekend I was told I needed to stop calling Donald J. by his original family name, Drumpf, because he obviously changed it and I should show him some respect. This imperative was given to me by a Drumpf voter in my immediate family and I said I would neither do it on the grounds of a legal name change nor on the grounds of showing respect. I’d like to detail my reasons, as though any reasonable person would need help figuring it out.
First let me outline the reasons I don’t respect Donald J. Drumpf:
- He behaves like a spoiled child
- He revels in his ignorance of how the world works
- He uses the words, “Trust Me”
- He continues to demean women
- He never tells the truth
Now, to my main points regarding respect:
Respect Is Earned, Not Given
Contrary to my family member’s opinion, I don’t have to give anybody respect if I don’t want to. In fact, the default position is null on respect until it’s earned. When a person speaks or acts in a way that would make me disrespect them (for example, questioning a person’s citizenship or promising to jail a political opponent or inciting violence at a rally) then I will. Otherwise, a person needs to speak and act in a way that would earn my respect. The onus is on them, not me. My only job is to evaluate a person’s words and actions and decide for myself whether or not they’re due respect. Drumpf is not that person. He hasn’t earned the right to demand any respect from me or anyone.
Respect Isn’t Given Due to a Title
We all know Drumpf won the election and his title is President of the United States of America. I already acknowledged that in a previous post. That aside, Drumpf continually reminds us that he won the election (like this, and this, and this) as though he’s still trying to process it himself. How, then, could any of us forget (as much as we’d like to)?
That, however, isn’t good enough reason for anyone to afford this idiot an ounce of respect. Just because you hold an office or a title doesn’t mean you’re worthy of respect. Take, for instance, an abusive parent. Is that person worthy of respect just because they’re a parent? Should a child accept that being a parent – even an abusive one – obliges the child automatically to respect that person? Drumpf is on par with an abusive parent. A stupid, impulsive, abusive parent. He and his Republican majority are slavering over their newfound power to suppress voters, oppress LGBTQ people, destroy the environment, unleash predatory lenders, and strip healthcare away from millions of Americans. Is that worthy of respect, just because he sits in the Oval Office? No.
Respect Is Mutual
Nobody should ever be asked or expected to give respect to a person when that person is disrespectful to everyone else. In addition, nobody who is disrespectful to other people should be giving advice about respect. Take, for example, the average Drumpf supporter who for years insisted that Obama was a Muslim or that he wasn’t born in the U.S., or who believed that Hillary murdered people and ran a child sex ring out of a pizza parlor, or that gay people are pedophiles attempting to turn our children gay.
That Drumpf supporter is the last person on the planet from whom I would take advice on how I give respect and for what reasons. That Drumpf supporter is a hypocrite and allows themselves to be duped into believing the most asinine bullshit anyone has ever heard, simply because it confirms their identity with the Republican Party…or, at least, their bias against the “evil” Democratic Party. No, Drumpf supporter, I will not respect someone who openly and actively disrespects everyone else on the planet (except tyrants and murderers).
Did you, Drumpf supporter, respect presidents Clinton and Obama? Did you give them a chance? Did you denounce the ludicrous conspiracy theories and outright lies about them? Did you give them credit for their accomplishments? Did you respect Hillary Clinton? Did you abstain from calling her “Crooked Hillary” and chanting, “Lock Her Up?”
Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
I Give Respect To Whom I Want
Those people to whom I give respect earn it through reason and empathy. The people I respect the most understand that the good of the country surpasses party lines and political ideology. The people I respect don’t talk to invisible friends and treat other people poorly because their invisible friends told them to. The people I respect deserve it because they’ve earned it.
Donald J. Drumpf will never be one of those people, because he doesn’t have the capacity. He won’t be one of those people because the only person he’s ever respected in his life has been Donald J. Drumpf. #NotMyPresident
