Hypocrisy and Respect

One cannot exhibit the former and expect the latter

It is an observable fact that most men and women have all the self-awareness of the average rock. Women at least have the excuse of their natural solipsism and lack of empathy to account for this, men not so much. And one thing we know that men crave is respect, both from their wives, their families, and their peers.

The first question is obvious:

Precisely what are you doing that merits respect from anyone?

But I’m more interested in the second, less obvious question:

What are you doing that merits disrespect from others?

The answer, I suggest, is readily observable. You hold others to a standard that you do not hold yourself. This is not only textbook hypocrisy, but it also renders you someone that others cannot even manage to take seriously, let alone respect.

Contemplate your natural reaction to someone coming up to you when you are in the middle of a basic task that you know how to do, perhaps something as basic as drawing an illustration of a horse, and then criticizing your illustration. Perhaps the tail is too short or the ankles are a little too prominent.

So you hand the person the pencil and ask them to go ahead and show you how it should be done, and after spending a few minutes drawing a few lines, he presents you with the following image of a horse that he has so helpfully finished for you.

What is your natural response going to be? Are you going to appreciate his artistic vision? Are you going to appreciate his help? Or are you going to think he’s a fucking clown who really should have kept his mouth shut about things he obviously knows nothing about? What level of respect are you going to have for him, not only as an artist, but as a human being?

Here is my very firm belief and recommendation:

If you cannot significantly and materially improve upon the expected results that others are achieving, keep your nose out of it and keep your mouth shut.

For some reason, both women and low-status men harbor an almost insatiable desire to interfere with the actions and activities of others, regardless of whether they even understand what the task at hand happens to be or if they understand what the other’s objectives are.

Don’t do that. Don’t ever do that, especially if you have any interest in being respected.