Is there any surer way to earn respect:
Mental Health Movement members Debbie Delgado and Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle just confronted Rahm face-to-face about his mental health clinic closures. Rahm was about to address a small room of developers and residents at the Wicker Park field-house. 3 years after he closed half of Chicago’s public mental health clinics, he may have thought the issue had gone away. But then Debbie, sitting in the front row, a few feet from the mayor, stood up to tell her story. She told of losing her son to gun violence. She told him how her other son was holding him as he died. She told about how the city’s Northwest Mental Health Clinic in Logan Square saved their lives, helped her and her son deal with the PTSD and depression. Then she asked why he took that clinic away from her. Why he closed a clinic and now a bar sits in that space. Why he closed five other mental health clinics. Why he thought she would be able to travel an extra hour past three cemeteries to get to the clinic she was supposed to be transferred to without having an anxiety attack on the way. Why he has left her with no options. Why he has left her with her son closed in, barely leaving the house anymore, refusing to see a new therapist since Rahm Emanuel took away their clinic. After trying to keep his cool, he told us that he would speak to us after the event in a separate room. There, we saw the Real Rahm. Now off camera, Rahm’s voice raised, his demeanor changed, in no time he was shouting in Matt’s face, nose-to-nose “YOU’RE GONNA RESPECT ME!”
than yelling “You’re gonna respect me!” in people’s faces? In prospective voter’s faces? In the faces of prospective voters in fragile mental states?
I recognize that’s only one side of the story and that the mayor is in a tough position. Chicago’s fiscal situation is a mess, it was a mess when he came into office, and whatever he does somebody’s ox will get gored. He asked for the job and that’s the job. We didn’t force it on him. If he doesn’t want it, why is he seeking re-election?
I think that to earn respect you’ve got to give it. Does he appear to have been giving these voters respect?
There’s more comemnt on the reported incident at memeorandum.
Respect is one of the most misused words in America. People typically ask for or demand respect when they’re really asked by to be treated with civility. The difference is that respect must be earned, while civility should be expected as a matter of course.
And here Rahmbo is using respect in another manner entirely, as he seems to want deference (or even servility) instead of respect.
And don’t get me started on people misusing jealousy when they’re actually describing envy….