Respect Is Only Human: A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias -Volume 6

By Israelin Shockness

RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN – A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias Many groups in society are disrespected, discriminated against, and deprived of basic human rights to the detriment of their members. RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN – A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias describes how being human entails displaying respect for self and others and accepting difference based on race, ethnicity, gender and gender orientation, nationality, religion, physical and mental ability or other. RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN – A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias equips us to see how implicit bias underlies injustice, unfairness, and hatred, often fueling unkind and even deadly actions towards others. RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN – A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias empowers us to use respect to eradicate implicit bias, even with some ideas of how respect can help cope with COVID-19 in our very changed world. Order your copy of RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN – a Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Israelin Shockness (Vanquest Publishing)
• Release date: May 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781775009498

Book preview

RESPECT IS

ONLY HUMAN

A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias

ISRAELIN SHOCKNESS

Successful Youth Living - Vol. 6

Copyright

Copyright © 2020 by Israelin Shockness.

Vanquest Publishing Inc.

Requests for information can be obtained by contacting [e-mail].

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Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Israelin Shockness

Includes bibliographical references

RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN: A Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias

ISBN: 978-1-7750094-9-8  (ebook)     

ISBN: 978-1-7750094-8-1  (paperback)

SERIES – Successful Youth Living - Vol. 6

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author ([e-mail]).

Disclaimer

All materials provided in this book are for informational purposes only and should not be taken as a substitute for professional, psychological, or mental health advice. These materials are intended to encourage and motivate readers to think and to have meaningful conversations around the issues discussed, the objective being to promote more responsible behavior at all times. If, for any reason, a reader may be experiencing any emotional or other crisis, that reader is encouraged to seek out professional care. References have been made to peer-reviewed and other research studies and works, but this is not intended to imply specific endorsement of this author’s work by any of these authors and professionals mentioned.  Any incorrect attribution of ideas to an author was not intentional and will be corrected at earliest possibility. The opinions expressed in this book are solely those of this author and not those of the publisher. Further, the publisher is exempt from any responsibility for actions taken by readers with respect to the content. The publisher also acknowledges that readers act of their own accord in using information presented and hold the author and the publisher blameless in the readers’ use of the content. 

Purpose of This Series

Successful Youth Living is a series of books, dealing with issues, which older teens and young adults face as they go through the uncertainty of adolescence.  A few of the topics dealt with in this series are: becoming a leader in your own right without being a bully; learning how to assume responsibility; fostering positive attitudes and habits for self-growth; learning how to continue your education regardless of where you stopped or whether you dropped out; developing emotional intelligence and caring for self and others; learning how to deal with stress; and recognizing the importance of personal reflection. The sixth book in this series, Respect is Only Human: Response to Disrespect and Implicit Bias, discusses the importance of respect. Respect is shown as humanizing us and when we recognize that implicit bias is based on disrespect, which dehumanizes us, we also see the urgency in working to eliminate this bias.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to all those young people who aspire to make respect an important part of your lives.  Whether you see yourself as Gen Z, a Centennial, Gen Y, or just a youth, this book is for you. 

As a young person, near the beginning of life’s journey or well on your way, you have the opportunity to be intentional about the kind of person you want to be and the kind of leadership you want to provide.  It means living your life as a lighthouse for those who could lose their way: siblings, children, friends, and those whose lives cross paths with yours. It also means looking to mentors that could lead you in best practices.

To those who aspire to be leaders, respect is crucial. As leaders, you must respect yourselves and others, making respect the very bedrock of your lives. Respecting others involves viewing them through lens not distorted by implicit bias. Removing implicit bias therefore becomes the ultimate goal.

As a parent, grandparent, friend, family member, or an older adult working with younger people, even as a baby boomer, this book is also for you.

You have the opportunity to be intentional in being a beacon of light to younger generations.  You can be a role model, and reinforce why respect cannot be overlooked as a fundamental value in our society. Through your respectful behaviour, you can demonstrate why respect outshines disrespect at all times. While I don’t claim to have all the answers, I have also learned a great deal from many of the students with whom I worked, and I would like to share these and other experiences with you.  It is with this hope that I present this book to you.

Foreword

We disrespect ourselves and others because of implicit bias, the bias that is based on the stereotypes we have of ourselves and others.  Society is based on visions of who we are because of our gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, income level, ability, nationality, and much more.  We see ourselves and others through these lenses. 

Those of us who are considered privileged in our society may walk around unconsciously believing that we are entitled to certain benefits, and that others whom we marginalize should not have access to these same benefits. 

Those of us who are considered marginalized by others may also walk around unconsciously telling ourselves that although we know we are legally entitled to those same benefits, maybe we cannot access these benefits because we may be inherently inferior. We may even unconsciously act this way, even when these benefits are within our grasp.

All of this is based on the implicit bias that we hold as a result of the society into which we were born.  If implicit bias is to be eradicated and lead to a society based on equity, it will take all of us respecting ourselves and respecting others as human beings, and recognizing that it is respect that makes us human.

While this book examines some of the disrespect that takes place in our society, it also alerts us to many of the things we take for granted, and that keep us prisoners in our circumstances.  If we can only recognize when implicit bias is alive and well and evident in our thinking, then we will be in a good position to acknowledge it for what it is, and take action to expose it for the harm that it could cause, not only to ourselves, but to others.

By respecting ourselves and others, regardless of the stereotypes that society may have of us, and by taking action when we find ourselves guilty of implicit bias, we would be making great headway in promoting equity.  We would be taking the position that RESPECT IS ONLY HUMAN.

Chapter 1

Introduction –Why a book on Respect?

Respect is only human and any disrespect on our part diminishes our humanity. Yet, disrespect is rampart and therefore undermining all that is good and decent about our society and its accomplishments.

While our world community is becoming more connected through technology and travel, and while we are becoming more innovative and creative in how we live, we seem to be overlooking some of the basic values that make us human. Respect is the most basic of these values.

As Confucius, the ancient philosopher, asked rhetorically, Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men (and women, too) from beasts?

Despite what we may think of the advanced state of our civilization, we seem to be experiencing serious moral decline. We disrespect ourselves by the things we do and say.  We often fail to recognize that people have feelings the way we have feelings, and when we treat others in ways in which we do not want to be treated, we are disrespecting them, often making them feel less than human.  But we are also unwittingly disrespecting ourselves and setting the stage for others to disrespect us. As one author observed, Treat people the way you want to be treated.  Talk to people the way you want to be talked to.  Respect is earned, not given (Hussein Nishah, Pakistani Beggar King, 1538-1599).

All we have to do is look around us, at all levels of our society, in all fields, in our individual families, in our communities, among different groups of people, in governments, and across nations, and discover that there is a high level of disrespect that has become commonplace. 

It is fast becoming the norm, and is even observed in the high degree of bullying that children and young people face on a daily basis.  It is also evident in the bullying behaviour that adults experience on their jobs, in their communities, and in their relationships with each other. This uncivil behaviour has even reached into our governments.

This uncivil behaviour has to stop and will only stop when we face the underlying cause: implicit bias and the accompanying disrespect. But first, we must understand who we are as a people, and in what ways disrespect is increasingly become a central part of our lives. We must understand how disrespect is strongly embedded in implicit bias.

However, in order to put an end to disrespect in its many forms, we must first recognize its many manifestations in our society.

Chapter 2

The State of Disrespect in Our Society

Disrespect is at an all-time high in most institutions of our society.  It is seen within our homes, in workplaces, among friends, in politics, and among government leaders. Unfortunately, disrespect is evident as vast amounts of incivility are taken for granted.  Disrespect features heavily in the entertainment we enjoy. Advertisers often use incivility as a means to gain our attention to their products.  The general picture is