rights and responsibilities

[Lavanda]

I'm having a brief rest from tax things and while walking the dog I thought of all the recent good topics and robust debates, spoiled, in the end, by trivia and petty insult. How unlike us. That got me thinking about my visit to Caceres on Monday to the tax office and seeing a crocodile of primary school children all dressed up in costume proporting to be from other EU countries. I couldn't see the UK represented but the Scots were there in tartan, bonny hats and red wigs. I spoke to one of the teachers who told me they were doing a week-long 'How to be a good European' project - what my OH calls early brain-washing.

That started me thinking about my own students and teaching career. One of the first things tutors had to do with their tutor group was 'Rights and Responsibilities'. The students, 16-19 years old, were amazed they had rights but horrified to learn they also had responsibilities. Together we created our rules. I had the right to start class on time. They had the responsibility to be on time. They had the right to feedback on their work before the deadline. I had the responsibility to give feedback. I had the right to work in a bad language free studio. They had the responsibility to not swear. When one student asked for the right to swear we did debate this but he was democratically out-voted. He took it well and abided by our rules.

So ... what sort of rules could we make for the EU, I wondered?

The right of each country to retain their language and culture.
The responsibility of immigrants to learn the language and culture of their adopted country.

Seems reasonable ... but the more you think about rights and responsibilites to more complex it gets ...

That got me thinking ...

[katy]

Think I'll pass on this one...as OH said this am. when he read yesterdays threads why provide entertainment for the nasty abusive bullies who cleary have nothing to say unless you post Ciao

[crazyred]

Did I miss some fistycuffs??

[Devils Advocate]

Nope, just the wolf pack after Katy again

[olive]

Yep I will pass too.

[Lavanda]

Fair enough but it shows how easy it is for the few to make the many give up on debate. I will now go back to more 'taxing' matters.

[Julie]

The problem being that a debate is good, when it becomes a slagging match because people don't agree with someone's opinion why bother posting, one would end up doing the same out of frustration

[Mowser]

Think I'll pass on this one...as OH said this am. when he read yesterdays threads why provide entertainment for the nasty abusive bullies who cleary have nothing to say unless you post Ciao

Pot-kettle-black

[markwilding]

Nope, just the wolf pack after Katy again

Am I missing something here?
I'm sorry but katy gives as good as she gets

[BENIDORM]

I believe in 'mutual respect', no matter how young or old the person is they deserve to be shown respect ,but in return they must also practice the same.
I had some 'naff' rude teachers at school and I hated attending their classes , I had no respect for them , but the teachers who showed respect to me and were caring and helpful I had great admiration for and I actually excelled in the subjects taught by them....

Regards,
Gordon..

[JWhite]

Isn't that the problem in today's society though, that people do not have enough respect for each other. I am old fashioned I guess because I believe in respecting old people, authority (no matter how it disadvantages me personally), doctors, etc. It's how I was brought up. I also believe if more young people were brought up to accept responsibility for their actions, we would not have many of the problems we have today. I always question something I do not agree with and believe everyone is entitled to an opinion but always have respect for someone who comments but also in return has respect for me. The problem crops up when one person gives an opinion in a polite manner and someone comes back with a sarcastic unflattering comment or derogatory statement which puts someone down.

OR, am I in a minority in this belief?

[Julie]

In total agreement with you, I find it quite sad that no one take responsibility for their actions, nor do many people expect them too.

[markwilding]

Isn't that the problem in today's society though, that people do not have enough respect for each other. I am old fashioned I guess because I believe in respecting old people, authority (no matter how it disadvantages me personally), doctors, etc. It's how I was brought up. I also believe if more young people were brought up to accept responsibility for their actions, we would not have many of the problems we have today. I always question something I do not agree with and believe everyone is entitled to an opinion but always have respect for someone who comments but also in return has respect for me. The problem crops up when one person gives an opinion in a polite manner and someone comes back with a sarcastic unflattering comment or derogatory statement which puts someone down.

OR, am I in a minority in this belief?

It's a pity you don't give that same respect to all sections of society no matter their creed age or background.

[Julie]

Mark people can have an opinion, just because its not the same as yours, you don't need to be rude to them.

[markwilding]

Julie, I don't consider my response to be rude. It's my point of view that all sections of society need to be respected.

[El Sidney]

Hi all,
Don't we all have two ears and one mouth, and should use then accordingly?
Sid.

[markwilding]

Some years ago I knew a Moroccan guy you uses to have a similar expression, which I suppose was a direct translation from one in his language.
It went something like this ."We all have to eat and go to the toilet", although those weren't the exact words he used.

[El Sidney]

haha, like your style, Mark.....

[Colinm]

In my view, people earn respect. Only when theyearn the respect, do they actually deserve respect. For years we were taught to respect the church (so be respectful as you are abused). We were taught to respect the judiciary (so be respectful as they let paedophiles and rapists out on bail).

Gordon's comment about mutual respect between teachers and pupils rings very true for me also.

[Lavanda]

I agree that respect has to be earned but right from the start, when I know nothing about the person in front of me and they have not yet opened their mouth, I feel I have to be PREPARED to respect them. This is not always that simple because I, like most people I think, make value judgements on their appearance. However, that quickly becomes irrelevant once dialogue starts up and the respect points start to stack up or get deducted.

A forum like this skips the judgement by appearance for obvious reasons and respect, or not, can be earned, or not, purely on what we write. There is no one on this forum I disrespect because just as soon as I think someone is a twit they post something sensible, insightful, funny and smart (all in my opinion, of course). I feel I do not want to disrespect anyone here because how will that make me feel about me? I post here. If I disrespect even one person then what am I doing on here? I may disagree with a poster over a topic but I have no one on 'ignore' and I never will have because not listening to someone must be the height of disrespect. No?