Hey guys! I hope your week has been great. We’ve been locked up (or down) for so long. I know most people have gone back to work and are living their lives normally, but honestly it’s still not the same. I can’t wait for things to get better because I think I’m running out of things to keep me busy. 

Anyways, I saw something online a while ago about respect. I don’t really remember the exact way the person put it, but basically they were trying to say that you don’t owe an adult any respect if they disrespect you.  They were saying that since respect is reciprocal, age shouldn’t affect it. You should be able to get punched in the face if you slap me unnecessarily. The fact that you’re older doesn’t give you the right to disrespect somebody. And if you do disrespect somebody younger than you, you shouldn’t be expecting any form of respect from them just because you’re older. Basically, if you do somebody “dirty”, they should be able to pour mud on you too😂. I’m just kidding but I’d really like to know what you think.

For me, I feel like you might want to use your discretion and the wisdom of God😂. I actually understand where the person was coming from. As Africans (especially), I feel like a huge percentage of us have experienced this. Having adults just talk to the younger ones anyhow because they’re older. The worst part of all this is the fact that no matter what happened, you’d be asked to apologize. It doesn’t matter if you were right or how far the other person went. They’re older and that’s a pass for them. They can do anything because of their age. The fact that they’re older means they’ve experienced more and so they can tell you what’s right. After all, what an elder sees while sitting down, even if a child decides to enter a helicopter, he can’t see it😂. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard that line.

It’s a lose-lose situation if you ask me. How? In this part of the world, it’s very rare that you’re right when an adult is involved. You think an adult is being disrespectful towards you and so you decide to speak up? You will be dragged my dear!  Cos...”weren’t you taught”?

That’s another line I’m sure you’ve heard too. So please tell me...how would this work? How do you even stand a chance when you’re already always wrong? Respect should be reciprocal but that can only work in a world where things are fair.

I remember an adult reporting me for something I didn’t even do just because they were in a bad mood. It was bad enough that they said a lot of mean things to me and I couldn’t even do anything. But the minute I hissed, I became a wayward child.

Of course, I hissed! I got frustrated just standing there and listening to someone say mean things to me just because they were having a bad day. You already know but I’ll still say it. I ended up apologizing and promising not to be a bad child again. What did they say I did? Allow me to quote the translated version 😂. 

“I was teaching her how to behave properly and she hissed”.

I’m not an evil spirit. Why would I just hiss because you’re “teaching me how to behave”?

Sometimes, older people just get to you and you just want to explode. Please share with me in the comment section how you go about it.

Do you have an experience you want to share? Please feel free because honestly, I don’t know how anything can change.