Respect must be earned, not given

Published 12:23 pm Thursday, October 29, 2015

Editor:

I am writing to the recent letter by Peter Kapuscinski, “Preach respect and common sense,” published on Oct. 16 regarding the community forum that was held at the Moton Museum on Sept. 22.

I wanted to point out that while it was mentioned that we need to be teaching the children and the citizens of the community “respect and common sense,” respect is earned, not simply given just because someone wears a law enforcement uniform.

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In order to earn that respect, citizens should be allowed the opportunity to get to know their local officers and this includes through forms such the one we helped sponsor.

As one of the students who participated in this event I had the opportunity to listen to a citizen who voiced that he would enjoy having the chance to have a conversation and the chance to get to know the police officers around him.

The common theme that emerged was that citizens would feel more comfortable knowing who is protecting them, thereby leading to respect.

My point is that respect is not just given to those on a whim; merely because one is wearing a uniform. Respect is earned by getting to know and better understand those you serve. Once that happens, “common sense” will follow. This is what the community should be teaching their children and other citizens.

Brittany Lorentz

Farmville