We Get The Respect We Earn

"He Dissed Me"

We Get The Respect We Earn


"He dissed me." This was the young man's answer to the question, "Why did you shoot a stranger?"

When the TV newscast was over I called a young relative and asked what "He dissed Me" meant. The answer; he disrespected me. In today's culture it seems, you must be careful to show respect or run the risk of gunshot wounds, even death, as in this case.

We earn respect, I've learned, by the way we dress, our posture when talking, with or listening to someone, and with the language we use. Our dress tells others how much we respect ourselves. Our posture is part of our body language, which includes facial expressions. A smile is recognized in every culture, human and animal, so is a grimace, hard clenched muscles and a "certain" look. Four letter words scattered through our speech tells others we are lazy or unintelligent or both.

Please and thank you can create wonderful results in life when spoken sincerely, but the opposite when not, the difference is instantly perceived by the other person. Our tone of voice transmits our true feelings, easily over riding our words.

We earn respect.

When we feel "dissed", we've earned it in thought, word and deed.

Wes Zimmerman