I don't know what notions you guys have on respect, but I’m sure they're about to change. Respect is personal. Besides, within each person, notions differ with time. Even if they are big fat words such as respect, even if they don't change that much with time within the individual beings themselves, them being so stupid and so eager to conform, one thing I'm sure: they differ from person to person.
My notion of respect is different from yours and vice a versa and if that be so there's no fuckin' respect to start with and I hate that, I might even track you down and incarcerate your useless blog, hide it from site, hide it from you - just for starters. Got the picture? Either you respect these fuckin’ words or I’ll kill you. Is that understood?
Does this mean you cannot define respect? Maybe it does, but nonetheless I got a good definition for respect, if you take it as a verb: to respect someone or something is not to mess with it or her/him.
What does this mean? For instance, I take a cruise into some whorehouse (banal stuff for yours truly) and light up a cigarette just as I approach the bar, looking mean (whores dig that, come to think of it, not only whores but a whole bunch of women dig the man fatale routine). Now, the bartender, a nice guy fresh out Alguidares de Baixo, politely asks me to put it down.
The cigarette, not the act or whatever else might be straight unbending and up by then.
He says «it's not allowed to smoke» in the joint. Politely, I reply I will not put it out. Not 'cause it's giving me cancer, not 'cause I’m fed up with smokes, just cause the Alguidares de Baixo vigilante mentality does not suit my mood. I say to him that whores like my smoking act and since it works all the time I’ll not oblige by his request. Am I being unrespectful?
Remember, it's a whorehouse. It's not legit to start with. So the guy calls security (two ex-cons) and before I can have a final drag, there I go, out of the whorehouse for good - «And never come back, you unrespectable son of a... er... son of a respectable woman.»
Now, was that respectfully of him? Having me throw out, just like that, in front of everybody?
Sure it was. The guy was more than respectful, hell, he was a friend, come Xmas I might even buy him a pack of Marlboro’s!
You see, this schmuck just saved me at least 50 euros, (50 euros I couldn’t afford to spend on a lousy whore that could even give me AIDS) and, moreover, in those magnificent few moments, the guy from Alguidares de Baixo abided by the best definition I got for respect: to respect is to respect thy neighbour’s property. And so he did, even against my momentarily twisted will.
So, respect and property are deeply bounded. PROPERTY. Respect.
I guess I could go on and on, just trying to establish what property is and what is the nature of the relation between property and respect. But I’ll not dwell with it for much longer. First of all, you’re tired of reading this lame text of mine; second, I respect you. Third, I love the Blues. I love shades of grey mixing in the black and white of reality.
Now, the Blues, they ain’t got respect for nothing. The Blues are about deconstructing respect, while tuning it. It’s true. Don’t believe me?
Fine. Just have some, with or without respect:
|