(Let me preface this and say I do use adult language in this post.)
Hey out there in online-land! Wow. Can't believe it's been so long since I last posted the vomit that spews from my head. Maybe that's a good thing. Perhaps the vacation away has provided me with time to gain a better and more understanding view of the world in which I live....that's a NEGATIVE.
Nope. The world sucks and most people that live in it suck.
Let me explain. I previously posted about the absence of common courtesy in the form of "thank you." I will expand that theme to include the absence of common respect. Now, here's the thing - I firmly believe that respect is earned and not given. But there are varying degrees to earning respect. In this case, respect is earned just by living to the point of adulthood, and I will respect you as such...until you lose my respect by starting to be an argumentative douche-nozzle.
My example: I was out walking my dog around 10:00pm. Upon returning to my house, there was a young, adult male sitting in my driveway, smoking a cigarette. Now, my driveway abuts an alley, and there are a wide mix of persons that use said alley to navigate their way around the neighborhood, so seeing someone just hanging out, doing their thing is a common occurrence near my place.
As I walked up to my driveway, my exact words were: "Hey brother, I'm gonna ask you to go smoke that somewhere else, besides my driveway."
His response started to be: "With all due respect..."
I didn't even let him finish that thought. No. There isn't any fucking thing you can say that will change my mind about you smoking in my driveway. You could be drinking a juicebox, giggling at the balloon you're holding, and resuscitating a dead kitten, and it wouldn't matter. You are in my driveway. I don't want you there. I asked you to leave nicely. I respected your right to do what you choose as an adult. My issue is the location in which you're doing it, and the fact it's affecting my home, life, and family. You acquiesce. You might hate to do it, and do so reluctantly, but you don't fucking try to argue about why you should stay there on my property. I said, "No, no, no. Don't even finish. I asked you to leave. I have a newborn, and I don't want you here."
His response: "I can respect that." And he left.
Cool. So I ultimately got what I wanted, but why does it take an explanation and reason? Some of you might be thinking, 'Hey, Slipocles, he did leave without really making a fuss.' So fucking what! On the flip side, if I had been sitting on his or YOUR car, and you/he asked me to stop doing that, and I started with, "With all due respect..." that would piss you off, right? And why does it take a newborn to "earn" respect about the situation in which I asked you to leave?
The bottom line is this - in a world where more and more people try to be so politically correct, or understanding, or nice, or even just so Cartman-esque self-righteous in "I do what I want!", where is the line drawn?
I will tell you where that line is. Your home and your property. Your home is your castle. I will include your vehicles and property in the "home" category to save time. Your home should be a safe place - your private sanctuary away from the mess of a world and the people in it. A respected place. It's the place where you can be left alone to mostly do what you want, away from everyone else. It's the place you decorate, fix-up, alter, and adjust to meet your needs, wants, and comforts. What right does anyone have to project their thoughts or being on YOUR sanctuary? They don't. In an ideal world (yeah, right), everyone would leave your home alone. No tagging, throwing trash, leaving dog poop, gum, or hanging out. BUT, if they make the choice to not respect that home, I feel they should get whatever comes to them. I asked you to leave my home. You don't obey, now I'm telling you. You still don't obey, then pain and punishment is coming your way.
They say home is where the heart is. That's the truth for me. My wife and I recently had our first child, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to ensure his health, happiness, and well-being. So, you leave my home alone..and I will respect you and yours. And that's not so ridiculous.
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