Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Common courtesy

So, when did common courtesy go out the door?  I'm home, taking some off time and I come out into my backyard to find a woman and a man putting screws into my (our shared) fence because their dog can squeeze through the loose boards.  Which is a great thing, but sort of presumptuous...isn't it? Or am I way off the beam here?...You can't knock or ring the bell to tell me what you want to do?  They apologized for not ringing first, said they assumed I was at work...grrr...

I'm not sure if I should feel violated or glad...




Friday, March 1, 2013

Respect

Today at work was an interesting one.  Today was about respect.  Now, I know that word is bandied about quite a bit in these circles.  It is discussed how respect is almost more important to a man than love.  I guess I sort of knew that in a sort of peripheral way.  It was front and center at work today.

I work for a great guy and we have a new boss who is also a great guy. They are fun, easy going, kind and thoughtful.  Today one of them got on a rant about respect.  He was right.  He had been to a meeting where he was ambushed and he thought the ambush was disrespectful. He told that to everyone who came by to discuss the occasion of the disrespect.  I guess I have always thought disrespect was most commonly shown in words or body language when two people are communicating. 

This disrespect was about hiding something and then using it as a weapon.  This disrespect was between two men (yes, I am innocent of involvement...thank goodness and also thankfully the one woman involved did the right thing and wasn't disrespectful.  She didn't hide anything).  What I realized as I listened to his anger was what that he doesn't mind bitter disagreements or not getting his way, but he doesn't like being caught off guard and not being given the chance to respond in a reasonable manner so that everybody wins.  To the guy that was disrespectful it was about a minor victory that made the small disrespectful man feel good about himself. I am sure he gloated!  To the guy he was disrespectful to, it was about betrayal.  He said he always tries to be respectful of others and he couldn't understand why the other guy was being that way. 

It was very interesting and educational to hear all those things we hear in our little blogosphere right out there on the table.  Disrespect isn't just about words and body language it is about intent and in this case it was about premeditated intent. 

When I started this blog it was about finding teachers...I think I got the Master's Course in the effects of disrespect today!