Gangsta? I think not!
LeAnne Munoz
Issue date: 6/29/09 Section: Opinion
When living in a certain area, people pick up traits that may pertain to that area. If a person lives in the South, they are bound to pick up a southern drawl. For people living in Northwest Indiana, we tend to overextend our "A's." However, there seems to be another trait that has made its way into Northwest Indiana: a sense of entitlement, produced in the younger generation of "Region Rats," and seems to be extending its reach to every corner of the world.
It is no secret Northwest Indiana has its share of gangs and wannabe gangsters. Many kids walk around, pants halfway down their legs, hats cocked to the side, spouting an attitude that rivals the likes of music video mavens. This sense of entitlement garners respect, and people seem to demand it without earning it.
Personally, I have been involved or bared witness to many instances where people have tried to demonstrate this sense of entitlement of respect. I was once walking down the street to a friend's house, when someone in a car passed by and whistled at me. I kept on walking, only to realize the person in the car had circled around the block and began following me. The man started spewing lewd comments toward me, and once he realized I was not interested in what he had to say, he said I wasn't giving him the respect he deserved. Thankfully, the situation ended with the man driving away and me arriving safely at my friend's house.
To me, respect is earned, not given away like a free kitten at an animal shelter. A person with a temper that keeps their cool in a situation, that garners respect. A person working hard at their job and still shows up to school and puts in their all deserves respect. Someone who has a gun but chooses not to use it just because someone called them a name; that earns respect.
Personally, I can care less if a person thinks they deserve respect because they have a gun, are in a gang, sells drugs or lives the lifestyle of a gangster. In reality, that just makes them pathetic to me, and I will treat them as such.
Not everyone in Northwest Indiana acts this way, but it would be a bold-faced lie for me to say there aren't some of those people out there; and everyone has met a person with that sense of entitlement to respect before. It's a sad realization we have to come to, to put up with, and sometimes it makes a person lose all faith in humanity. While it is hard to be the bigger person, to ignore the ignorance around you, just remember that those tiny actions are the ones that earn you the respect you deserve.
It is no secret Northwest Indiana has its share of gangs and wannabe gangsters. Many kids walk around, pants halfway down their legs, hats cocked to the side, spouting an attitude that rivals the likes of music video mavens. This sense of entitlement garners respect, and people seem to demand it without earning it.
Personally, I have been involved or bared witness to many instances where people have tried to demonstrate this sense of entitlement of respect. I was once walking down the street to a friend's house, when someone in a car passed by and whistled at me. I kept on walking, only to realize the person in the car had circled around the block and began following me. The man started spewing lewd comments toward me, and once he realized I was not interested in what he had to say, he said I wasn't giving him the respect he deserved. Thankfully, the situation ended with the man driving away and me arriving safely at my friend's house.
To me, respect is earned, not given away like a free kitten at an animal shelter. A person with a temper that keeps their cool in a situation, that garners respect. A person working hard at their job and still shows up to school and puts in their all deserves respect. Someone who has a gun but chooses not to use it just because someone called them a name; that earns respect.
Personally, I can care less if a person thinks they deserve respect because they have a gun, are in a gang, sells drugs or lives the lifestyle of a gangster. In reality, that just makes them pathetic to me, and I will treat them as such.
Not everyone in Northwest Indiana acts this way, but it would be a bold-faced lie for me to say there aren't some of those people out there; and everyone has met a person with that sense of entitlement to respect before. It's a sad realization we have to come to, to put up with, and sometimes it makes a person lose all faith in humanity. While it is hard to be the bigger person, to ignore the ignorance around you, just remember that those tiny actions are the ones that earn you the respect you deserve.
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