I learned that respecting your elders just gets you disrespected without consequence when I was young. Now I just give an acceptable amount unless given reason to stop.
I've personally never really bothered with respect after learning how authority figures and elders use respect as a tool to maintain what little authority, position or perceived power they have over others, such as myself.
Instead of giving them respect that they demand, I treat them with dignity. They aren't special because I treat everyone I meet with dignity. This gives people a chance to earn my respect through their actions and treatment to both themselves and other people.
I do not feel comfortable allowing respect to be abused in a way that makes me feel submissive to anyone else. Also from my perspective, those who demand respect, do not deserve any respect because they fail to treat anyone else with dignity.
Reminds me of what a friend would tell me, "We gotta get rid of the "old wise person" stereotype, because some people accumulate stupidity with age, instead of wisdom"
Wait... dinosaurs like a mating pair of T-rex that somehow survived Chicxulub only to evolve into smaller versions of themselves, retaining the absurdly small hands and killin' fever.
as an middle elder that didn't recognize my racism, misogyny, et cetera because i am a socialist and read the right books and voted for the right people SUSPECT YOURSELF
Ooo! I was gonna mention that the general idea of that phrase came from the Boomer's parent's generation then realized it was a link, and there it is, at the bottom! I love looking into where phrases and sayings come from.