When do we get respect?
We're told from a young age
to respect our elders,
to obey - not just listen
We're told we don't know better
because we're kids
Then we become adults
and still, we're treated as less.
What is respect to the modern man?
Is it blind obedience
and a fear of arguments
in all forms,
or is it the sensation I get when I see women supporting women?
But you don't respect that.
Actually, the idea of respect that I've been taught versus
the reality I have experienced
is showing me more and more
that when older people
demand 'respect'
they usually mean fear
and complacency.
But I'm not afraid anymore.
I know what respect is.
You do, too, or else you wouldn't spend
so much time teaching us
that respect is synonymous with terror.
And I think that you spend so much time
demanding our fear
because you are afraid of us.
You are terrified of
the girl with colored hair,
the boy who wears a dress,
the woman who demands autonomy,
the man who stays home with his kids,
the artist who sings about the abuse you dished out,
the little babies sleeping in their gender-neutral rooms.
You are afraid, and we're not.
But it's basic respect, isn't it?