Respect is earned

Anna Tanko, Opinion Writer

When people say turn the other cheek or be the bigger person, I understand the message is to be kind regardless. However, I believe this message is a way of making people doormats or letting people walk all over them. As my mom says, “Anna is not the kind of person to suck up to people; she tells it exactly how it is.” I am not exactly the kind of person to comment “omg you look so pretty” on the Instagram post of a girl I believe is mean to everyone she talks to. I am not the passive- aggressive type. I am more the type to tell you to be quiet if you are interrupting someone. I have stood up for others since before I can remember, even if some of these occasions got me in trouble. Because of my stubbornness and how I was raised, I have come to find that I strongly believe respect is earned no matter what ageyou are. I know I will not be respected if I do not treat someone with kindness which is how it should be. But why am I the problem if an adult is acting immature and childish and I treat them with the same respect they give me? I may be too honest sometimes and say things others are not willing to say, but I have never regretted standing up for people who are supposed to blindly give respect to people who do not deserve it. Let’s explore the opposing view, do you expect people to respect you simply because of your status or position and not because of how you treat your customer service workers or younger people around you? Do you hold yourself above other people? If you believe people should be treated how they treat others, this should not bother you. Of course people should respect good teachers, coaches and authority figures until they are given a reason not to. It goes without saying teachers, students, coaches and kids should all be polite to each other but a level of real respect is earned through behavior. Again, just like most opinions there will be a student that takes this the wrong way and thinks they can talk to any teacher how they want, which is not the message. However, if you take your problems out on other people and treat students or customer service workers like they’re supposed to blindly treat you like royalty, this might offend you which frankly, is something you should reflect on.