"You can have my sympathy or my respect, take your pick."
Anonymous Web Comment
On its face this comment is insightful. I am not sure, however, that I agree with it wholeheartedly...
Maybe it works as a platitude to apply to my own self-pity, and perhaps something to teach my children. But I don't think it is a helpful way for me to think about treating others.
So perhaps it is better said:
"People will either give you respect, or give you sympathy, but they will rarely give you both."
1 comment:
The anonomous quote sounds like the concrete thinking that might be the result of a rigidly opinionated person. Your restructuring of the comment is a decent example of abstract thinking and an open mind. Unfortunately, we are all guilty of speaking in generalities, at times, some of us more than others, which conveys an unintended message. It is rarely helpful to frame something as either/or. In most cases, there are two words we should not use unless we want to look foolish, they are always & never.
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