For me it's a bit like trust... I give it fairly easily but once it's lost there's very little chance you'll ever get it back.
hmmm...
with just a little thought, not enough I have to admit:
Maybe you shouldn't feel you have to 'help' others quite so much?
Respect can be freely given without having jestures or actions to prove it.
That might sound cold or harsh,I certainly hope not. But I know where I'm coming from
lp
yes i think respact is earned, anyone can be in a possition of respect, a mother, a teacher etc but that don't mean you have to respect them just because of their possition, they have to earn that off you
I try to respect others. Once somebody loses it by their deeds or words it can be kind of difficult to to regain though. In short, I think that person was wrong.
i tottally agree with Lone.
I respect all until they loose it by their actions then they have to earn it back. Many do not.
Not as simple a question as it first appears I think.
Good thread Cp
On balance I think respect is earned and is garnered from the way people perceive our words and deeds and whether we are consistent in what we say and do.
So when I meet new people I have an empty box marked respect which I then start to load up or subtract from based on my interprotation of their character.
I also believe that respect is a silent commodity as we carry it quietly and one step away from the front of our minds. So we may well tell someone in conversation that we respect another individual but we rarely tell the individual ourslves.
Maybe we should do more of that or maybe just I should lol :idea:
I can respect the needs of another human simply on the basis that humans have needs, so I don't need to enquire too far to be able to do that. That is already 'earned' if you like.
If somebody wants respect for their 'position' - forget it. I am hardly going to respect someone cos their rich Dad shagged their rich Mum. That's just an accident of birth.
If I know the same person has managed their estate to increase the working population, conserving and using the land and buildings effectively. Then they will get my heartfelt respect. (Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire for instance)
I don't see any reason to respect someone just cos they get paid more than me either. I assume that the idiot Bush gets paid more than me and there is nothing that he personally has done or said that I feel is worthy of respect.
Respect is about what a person has done/achieved by their OWN efforts. And to give someone our respect we need to know about these things.
Summary - everyone from the poorest newborn to the richest old Lord gets my respect as a human being (and I expect the same back). People who want more respect than that need to show me why - and the same for me.
My opinion:
Like everything in life, respect is GIVEN. It is then everybody's own duty to make sure not to lose that respect.
Maybe I should have just highlighted the respect and earned bits.
Respect is not given, you earn it. The same as trust. It is not a given right but a priveledge, which far too many people abuse.
Some really good and inyeresting replies here.
I was brought up by my parents to have and show respect for all people and I do.
However people can add to that respect, as has already stated above.
Or they can lose that respect, by how they act etc
i was raised to show respect, now for me as a child that was to have manners, please, thankyou, excuse me, elbows off table, be polite.
always told respect your elders.
now i did as a child always try and do this, but there were several times i use dto be doing it and think, hang on shouldnt everyone be trested with respect?
i remember holding a shop door open for someone to get through carrying bags, then loads of people would continue to walk through without even saying thank you or aknowledging i was there. thene i was put in the poistin to appear disrespectful by letting go of the door. lol yes i know i think far to much about things, always have done.
i treat all people with respect why?? because at the end of the day the most important person to have respect for is me. if i cant feel respectful and comfortable who who i am then whats the point?
respect starts within your self.
towards people, as i said i respect everyone, its then up to them to not breach that and lose it. they woud then have to earn it back.
xxx fem xx
Yes I believe that respect is earned.
I do not bestow automatic respect on anyone. Their actions, their behaviour towards me, their behaviour towards others and their belief system all affect both if I respect them and how much I respect them.
In the converse, I don't really care how much I'm respected or not respected. I am who I am, if others choose to respect that then great, if they don't then that's good too. My own self-respect is far more important than anyone else's so it's far more important to me for me to be the person I want to be rather than the person everyone else would like me to be.
All things considered respect is pretty much an abstract notion anyway.
i try to respect people, their views, their religions, their preferences and whoever they are, as it has been said everyone deserves respect.
but i do believe everyone is equal and deserves the same respect, and i attempt to give the same to all, people dont earn respect from me, it is deserved from us all by us all, its peoples actions that lose respect from me, rather than gain it.
and respect for myself is the main important one, you should respect yourself.
E x
I believe respect is the moral right of anyone who has not yet proven themselves to be unworthy of it.
The only people I have a ingrained disrespect of - are those that say "respect is earned".
What precisely does one person have to do in order to be respected in another person's eyes.
To my mind rank, status and position mean nothing in terms of respect.
For me - respect is given freely, openly and with no strings attached. There is nothing more easily given by me than respect (except the speed at which it is witdrawn when the recepient proves themselves unworthy of it).
When you said about consistency in what we say or do, I can totally agree with that. For example: if you ask someone to do u a favour, and they do it again and again, you build up a respect for that person and show that respect by returning the favour. Or at least respectful individuals do 
