Treat People with Respect

by Jenny Blanchard

My first job after finishing college was as an ESL teacher at a university in New
York. We shared an office with the Sociology Department. The chair of this
department was an outspoken, very liberal political activist who shared my own
views on social and economic justice.

I soon observed with great disappointment that he treated his secretary terribly,
bordering on abusive behavior. He was dismissive and condescending to her, and
barely made eye contact when he handed her his coffee cup or gave her
instructions on some clerical task.

One day I approached his secretary, a very bright and hard-working woman, and
asked why she tolerated this behavior. She replied that her daughter was enrolled at
the university, and she had to keep her current position to access the tuition
remission benefits.

This was to be my first encounter with a complete disconnect between the outward
political views of an individual and their interactions with others. Sadly, it would
not be my last. I observed this phenomenon over and over again, meeting social
justice proponents who were zealous publicly, but mistreated others in their private
and professional lives. When I met an employee of Amnesty International, I spoke
of the noble mission of this organization. The individual replied: “Yes, they believe
in human rights for everyone except their employees.”

No matter how lofty our goals and aspirations, if we fail to treat the people around
us with respect and dignity, we have betrayed our ideals and we have
fundamentally failed as human beings.