I always thought it was respect that is earned, but I guess that would logically lead to disrespect being earned. I personally do neither when I first meet someone, I like to wait before I decide opinions about people. But in this guy’s case, one look at him and I would disrespect him, lol.
Respect is a rather interesting word. You can show respect, which basically means manners, politeness, proper behavior toward everyone (all things being normal), and you can actually HAVE a lot of respect for someone, which goes above and beyond the normal, everyday protocol.
If I meet a stranger who is acting normally in a store, and they engage in a few pleasantries, I will speak to them with respect. I think, as a civilized society, that’s our default position. Now if someone asked me if I had a lot of respect for that person, I’d say that I don’t know, as I don’t even know the person. He/she could be a serial killer for all I know lol.
Funny word, respect. That’s why I think it’s disrespect that’s earned. We naturally show respect, unless the person has earned otherwise. Lol I may not be making much sense today - I did a lot of knitting and my brain is still saying knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one.