To you, what does it mean to respect another?

Treat that person the same way you like to be treated!

I respect my husband by listening to him, giving his ideas (the good ones that is) equal weight, supporting him emotionally and being very careful with what I say when we disagree which happens infrequently.

treat other people as you wish to be treated.
But I treat people differently depending on them….isn’t that fine?
Not that I treat them bad or anything….

@tranquilsea And if he feels his ideas are good and you do not?

To accept and appreciate others regardless of their race, religious beliefs, nationality, political views, lifestyle preference, outward appearance, or gender.

I respect my husband by being there for him when he needs me, listening to waht he says, thinking before I say something mean, and finding a middle ground when we disagree. We try not to raise our voices at each other when we are angry and we don’t use words we would regret later.

@austinlad_is_back What does it mean to accept?
@Seaofclouds Sounds nice

@Seaofclouds, good question, and in fact, I started to add a sentence. For me, “accept” means regardless of who the person is or what he believes, you consider him/her fully qualified to be your friend,and you his/hers.

I try to live by The Platinum Rule and not The Golden Rule. For those that haven’t heard of the former, it means to ‘treat others as they want to be treated, not how you want to be treated.’ I’ve found that some co-workers like to be recognized for a job well done in public, while others prefer private recognition. It may seem inconsistent, but they appreciate being treated in the way that makes them most comfortable.

I’m not always successful though. Sometimes I slip back to the Golden Rule, and it fails. I only call Mom when there is something to report, and she would prefer that I call every week.

@austinlad_is_back Interesting

To treat others as you want to be treated.
It really is that simple:)

It means to hear them whey they speak, to trust their choices, to remain sensitive to their feelings, to support them through struggles.

I think that it’s a little more subtle than treating someone as you or they want to be treated. Respect is a nuanced thing. It’s not just one thing. There are different levels of respect. Respect, I believe, is related to status. The President of the United States gets more respect than anyone else in the world, I believe.

I generally respect people according to the quality of their thinking in combination with the knowledge they have and the relationship they have to me and my responsibility for them. I respect my children because they are mine and because they can think well, and despite their lack of knowledge. I do not respect other people’s children as much, unless they demonstrate a high level of thinking and/or knowledge for their age.

I could go through all kinds of different variations of respect, but that would take more effort than I’m prepared to give. Bosses get more respect because they have the power to hire and fire. Children get less respect because they don’t have the experience yet. Academics and successful business people generally get more respect, although it varies based on the individual. Part of it is how much respect they give me. Respect begets respect. The opposite generates disdain.

Respect is according people the honor they have earned or are entitled to. Often times people will say I respect the position but not the person. Treating people as they want to be treated can ear respect, but it can also earn disrespect if it is too easy. Treating people as you want to be treated, if appropriate, can earn respect or demonstrate respect. It is not about equality. It is about status and behavior. I’m sure we all know which behaviors earn respect and what status we will accord respect to automatically, regardless of behavior.

@wundayatta You are so right. Most of us have only spoken to how we show respect, whether it has been earned or not. Thank you.

@wundayatta what if you had a child that could not think well? I valve others more than just, “thinking well!” That would include a child that was a slow learner! Are there not things about a child that is a slow learner that you would respect. For example, he could be a very determined child. Never gives up etc. Have to respect that!

“Respect is according people the honor they have earned or are entitled to.”

I respect anyone that tries to do the right thing. That would include a ditchdigger if this person works hard, was good to his/her family, etc. .... Also, know a lot of people that have lots of money, that i have no respect for because of the way that treat their family.

Bottomline, the greatest respect i can give any person, is treat that person like i like to be treated. If everyone did that, what a wonderful world it would be!

@BoBo1946 What if the person was disrespecting you? Would you still respect them? I’m sure I could come up with a gazillion examples of disrespect, but perhaps the principle is enough?

And I agree with you about the child. I certainly would respect determination and stick-toitiveness, although if it was a foolish sticktoitiveness, I’m not sure I would respect that as much.

Similarly, I, personally, would respect the ditchdigger, assuming I knew he led an honorable life. It wouldn’t be the work he did that earned disrespect.

However, I have to respect people more powerful than I, even if I wouldn’t otherwise respect them, simply because of the power they have over me. Or I could choose not to respect them, and suffer the consequences.

@wundayatta if a person is disrespectful, would try to determine why they did that. One incident, provided they have respected me in the past, would not change my respect for that person. And, depending on what they did…the severity of the disrespect would have a lot of validity!

When I think of how I respect my husband, I think of how proud of him I am, his accomplishments, how he treats people fairly, the love and caring he shows for others. He has qualities I aspire to have, I feel I can learn from him even now after 17 years of marriage. I want to know his opinion, how he looks at things, even if I might disagree, he many times shows me a perspective I never thought of.

make room for boundaries and their being.

I guess I run more by the “platinum rule” that @Pied_Pfeffer was talking about. I usually say it’s the Golden Rule but +20% in their favor since I have lower standards for myself (not super low, don’t worry). Like with the mom expecting calls more often kind of thing.

When it comes to differences of opinions and such, depending on the topic, I respect their differences by engaging in debate and discussion instead of trolling or completely rejecting them. If an opinion on a situation is completely uninformed and they are stubborn to keep it, I do tend to lose respect for that person.

As a couple of people have mentioned, there are different levels of respect but that is a much harder thing for me to simplify.

Edit: It’s a changing thing. I start with that basic rule above and then it changes to suit that person’s personality as you learn more about them. Some actions are seen as disrespectful by some people and you have to learn what they are.

For me respecting my wife means listening when she speaks with my full attention, even if I could “multi-task” or simultaneously think of what I want to say. That’s a tough one, believe me. – I struggle regularly with that.

It means accepting and believing that what she wants is as important as what I want.

It means that I don’t micromanage what she does with our money.

It means she does not need to ask my consent to make decisions about what her heart tells her she wants to do. I back up her choices and support them because I trust her judgment.

It means not interrupting her or finishing her sentences even though I know her well enough to do so.

It means loving her even when she has her irrational moments and says things she’ll later tell me herself made no sense.

It means hearing her problems or concerns and not try and solve the problem or fix things when she just wants to be heard. – Oh how I struggle with that!
” her
It means not stepping in to help when she is working on things without her asking or without her consent when I ask if there is anything I can do to help.

It means discussing things with her before I make any major decisions just as she does.

It means loving and accepting her as she is and not trying to change or “improve” her.

It means never losing sight of all the ways she is beautiful, even when she can’t or won’t acknowledge them.

It means keeping things she shares with me in confidence, even if I do not understand why they have to be kept between us alone.

Respect is a learned attitude and self-respect is one of the most important forms of respect. Once we respect ourselves, it is easier to respect others.. In relationships strive to: Be honest, be positive, be trusting, be fair, be reliable, and be a good listener.

@Dr_Lawrence I love your answer.

To me, respect in a relationship is allowing the other person to be who they are. Likewise, I feel respected when I am allowed that same freedom.

It sounds familiar but treat others as you want to be treated, and sometimes a little better.

When interacting with others, do so in a mannerful way, be civil, and always be mindful that others (strangers) may be dealing with their own personal hardships and tragedies. Because of this, treat people with the kindness that you would like others to treat you, because everyone has a baggage to carry in life.

Re-spect. To look again. Respect, to me, is the constant willingness and ability to reevaluate someone (or something). Really wish more people shared my definition. The meaning of the word has been so twisted by people who just want to be revered (and by people who wish to justify their subservient outlook towards those people.)

I respect honesty! As long as I agree with it & tenacity & leadership, overall good character……. :-/

Respect is something that is earned.

Knowing that the dignity of every human being is inviolable.

To me, respect is based in your consideration of another person’s values, beliefs, etc. Someone dosen’t have to agree with me, but I would be shown resepct by them if they didn’t judge.

It means to speak to them kindly and decently, to let them speak their mind freely when they have something to say, to not harshly judge everything that they do or think, to reciprocate friendly treatment from them to you, to appreciate everything they do for you or anyone else, to show them support in difficult times that they’re going through, and to be considerate of their feelings and beliefs and things. Something like that?

@mattbrowne :)))))