Philosopher, do i need to have respect to people who have done very bad deed?

Question

why do we have to have respect to people when we dont know who is good or bad?

my freedom is to do what ever i like do i have to have respect still?

Answer 1

Hi Wisdom. Your first question - "do I have to respect someone who has done a very bad deed?" Absolutely not. If you know that someone has done something very bad, there is absolutely no need for you to feel respect for him/her. If you are a good person, which I think you are, how COULD you feel respect for someone like that?

The 2nd two questions I will answer together. You are right; you are free to do whatever you like. But you have to think what kind of person you would like to be. Do you want to be a kind, loving person, who cares for other people? If you do, that still does not mean you have to respect someone who has done a very bad deed.

However, you ask why do we have to respect people when we don't know who is good or bad. The answer is simple: because they are human beings. We meet many people as we go about our daily lives. We do not know if they are good or bad. So, we treat each person with kindness & respect. If we get to know someone & find out that they are bad people who do bad things, then we will stay away from them. We still do not treat them badly because we do not want to be bad people. But we can tell them, if we have to, that we think what they did was wrong & we cannot be around them.

With freedom comes responsibility. A tiny child does not know how to respect yet. They have not been taught about morals & ethical behavior; they would not understand. But once we are grown, or close to it we learn that "the world does not revolve around us," that we are not the only important person. Other people are important, too, and deserve our consideration and basic respect.

I am a Christian, but I certainly respect people who have different religious beliefs, or no beliefs. I have many friends, and just as many of them believe different things. But one thing we all have in common is the belief that we should treat people with respect.

In the Christian Bible, it says, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This means treat other people the same way you would like them to treat you. You would like people to be nice to you & treat you respectfully; so you do the same to other people you meet.

Now, if you mean do you have to feel respect for people who are famous, like celebrities, actors, etc., well, that's more like admiration. You can admire anyone you want to. However, be careful. When you admire someone, think about what it is you are admiring them for.

Admiration is a form of respect. They mean the same thing in some ways. For example, I admire the acting ability of James Wood. That means I respect his ability to act. That does not mean I necessarily admire/respect him as a person — I do not know him or anything about him. However, as a human being, if I passed him in a market & he smiled, I would be respectful & smile back.

I try to treat all human beings with respect. However I do not have respect for all humans. There is a difference. It is a good topic to study & to discuss.

Answer 2

The head and heart sometimes do not agree on this one.

From the head. Yes all people deserve respect. It is the behaviour that is the problem not the person. The person, as another human being deserves respect, kindness and a fairness. Who are we to stand as moral judge and juries? We are not Gods or Perfect. There are circumstances and events that lead to people doing bad deeds, who are we to make value judgments on how worthy that person is or how those circumstances led to that deed? When we judge others, we make ourselves superior as humans, which we clearly are not.

From the heart: It is easy to give respect to people who match our own values and morals. More difficult when a person has done something we find abhorrent. The victim of the deed deserves our compassion, it is difficult at times to balance that compassion with recognizing the humanness and inherent value of the person who has harmed them.

We need to recognize our own values and ethics and try to think round prejudices in order to treat the person who has done the bad deed with respect. If we can not be just in our actions or thoughts then we should not engage with that person, either personally or professionally eg I know I can not work with pedophiles where other colleagues can.

Great question.

Answer 3

Respect must be earned. However, there is a difference between holding someone in high esteem, which is one form of respect, and being polite.
Being polite is a reflection upon you as a person, and you should be polite even to people you don't respect. If you don't know whether someone is deserving of respect or not, treat them with politeness, which will make them respect YOU more. Also, other people see your actions and hear your words, or else hear about it secondhand. Those other people are forming their opinions of you by what you say and do. After all, you want to be worthy of the respect of other people, don't you?

Answer 4

You don't have to do anything you don't want--look around. Respect has more to do with you than your perception of whether someone is good or bad.

Respect begins with the self. If your view of the self is narrow, your definition of respect is compromised.

Ask this simple question each time you have conflict about any aspect of human behavior: what if everybody did it?

Answer 5

A person is innocent, until proven guilty. Use discernment of spirits. To err is human, to forgive is divine. So, don't give that which is holy unto the dogs; cast not your pearls before the swine, lest they rend them and trample them and you underfoot. If a person can't or won't repent of a bad deed, once proven guilty, with witnesses, then have nothing to do with that person; treat him as a heathen and a publican. Be as gentle as a dove, but as wise as a serpent.

But, most important, do not hate them, or bear grudges. Cast them out of your thoughts, and focus on good things: things of good report, things of value. If you don't, you'll be giving your adversary fuel from your dynamic energy, which you could better employ by trying to live in peace with all men, if possible.

Answer 6

This is easy, by respecting others for no reason, people will have respect for you. You dont have to do anything, but dont be a jerk and show some respect.

Answer 7

Respecting others' rights is about being a decent and worthy human being. Whether they *deserve* your respect is another matter. Perhaps we're caught in the difference between "respecting someone," as in admiring and looking up to them, versus "respecting someone's dignity and basic human rights." The second is absolutely required of you to be a decent human being, the first I'll be the first to tell you is not given it must be earned.

Answer 8

Let's say that what you LIKE is to treat everyone in the world with 'no respect' ... to spit in every face, to tread on everyone's foot ... or to kill others just because you 'want' to ... do I need to 'respect you'? If your answer is yes, then you MUST have respect for others who do bad as well as those who do good. In fact, who is to 'know' what is 'good' and what is 'bad' ... the people who destroyed the World Trade Center felt that what they were doing was 'good' ... the people who died, or who knew those who died, or who just sat and watched what happened felt that what they were doing was 'bad.' Good and bad are 'relative ideas' and our whole 'belief systems' are based on what we 'believe' is good or bad.
So, my answer to you is 'if you want to be respected by others' that you must also give others the same respect. If you don't care whether you are 'respected by others' who 'believe differently than you do' then you don't have to respect them.
I do have one 'request' to make of you, though. If you are in a place where we are both 'in a closed space' like a bus, you do not 'infringe on my love of quiet' by singing your songs at the top of your voice, or 'infringe on my mind' by saying whatever you want so loudly that I MUST LISTEN to you. That's not a matter of 'respect' as much as it is a simple 'following the rules' ... those that are 'set' by the bus company or the building or city as well as those of 'society' in general.

Answer 9

You should give everybody respect until you know that they have done wrong. You can't walk around and assume that everybody is doing wrong or trying to hurt you. Think about it...we all have done something wrong in our lives. Does that mean we should walk around and not give you respect?? When I meet a stranger, I try my best to give them all of my respect. If they do my wrong, they lose it. Simply put!

Answer 10

A person with no moral values deserve no respect. We all have free will. If a person decides to use that free will to do evil deeds, you do not owe them respect. However...Until a person has shown a propensity for evil, s/he deserves your respect.