Nothing Less Than Complete Respect
In working with teenagers, the internalized oppression (that takes place with every group that has been oppressed) was so heavy that we were looking for a way of interrupting it. . . . We asked them to make a promise to each other, and the wording is, “I solemnly promise that, from this moment on, I will never again treat any young person, including myself, with anything less than complete respect.” We’ve never had a group of young people together where more than two of them have made that promise before everyone in the group started crying—got their arms around each other and sobbed. Lack of respect is a crucial element in the mistreatment that young people endure.
It’s also at the heart of every other oppression. What’s at the heart of sexism? A woman being treated without respect. What’s at the heart of racism? The non-white person being treated without respect. What’s at the heart of ageism? The elder being treated as a cast-off. “Oh, Grandma, now you just go sit down.” Lack of respect.
From page 60 of “The Art of Listening,” in the Fundamentals of Co-Counseling Manual
(Present Time 198, January 2020)