BEING COURTEOUS IS BEING RESPECTFUL?

Today in the morning like at 10 am, I was doing TV zapping (action of jumping from channel to channel continually), suddenly I stopped in a national TV channel, it was showing a TV series named “Chacalon” (About a famous Chicha singer) Chicha is a Peruvian popular music derived from Cumbia. To tell the truth I watched the whole episode, I didn’t know how representative he was for the Andean immigrant population (it must be said that the Andean population immigrates to the capital continuously, looking for a better life and they are racism’s main target in Lima), Lorenzo Palacios Quispe  was famously known as “Chacalon” became an undeniable idol so much as a musician as well as a person, considering that he got a big heart helping  to poor people all the time, in his wake’s day a huge crowd was carrying on his casket to the graveyard “The Angel”, place where he was buried, believe me I have never seen a burial like that was very impressive, he was a great man for sure.

In the afternoon I went to Miraflores (very commercial district where Lima’s high class attend), when I was there I met a “friend” from university, he was always a “respectful” man and above all very courteous always showing good manners, to tell the truth always I have considered him as well educated man. But something happen that call my attention, when I commented to him about how surprised I ended watching the final episode of “Chacalon” series, he just answered with a contemptuous gesture about it, then just to be respectful I decided to ignore it. Then I remembered that in the university he used to hang out with well-off people mostly and one another guy maybe; for me that was estrange due I used to hang out with any cool person I met no matter their social or economical condition, I guess I am lucky to have the ability to talk to any kind of people, we were walking around a shopping mall while he was waiting for his friends; we were out of the mall when an old woman with Andean appearance touched his arm to ask him to buy a candy from her, he reacted in a scornful way  again but very violent this time, he asked me to get away from there, yelling unpleasant comments hurting that poor woman’s susceptibility, in a few words he fully disrespected her.

In a few minutes thanks to god his friends arrived, as usual he was courteous and he introduce me to them with great protocol, then he started to talk about the inconvenience with that lady, while he was telling his story seems like his friends were looking at him very disappointed, then I decided to leaved so I said good bye to all of them, and then I said to myself that he always used to seem like a very respectful and kind person, well he never was really my friend  and didn’t know him very well until today. Then later I was wondering about this, and I decided to look into de dictionary for the words RESPECT AND COURTESY.

RESPECT is the consideration, esteem or regard we show for another’s.

COURTESY is politeness and good manners.

So after I read this, I realized that is not necessary to be courteous to become respectful, these words seem to mean the same thing but they are not really the same, then I remembered something that the great social classes defender Carl Marx (Prussian thinker) said once “The working class is more hungry of respect than bread”, and I think that to say “not thanks I am fine” to that lady was more than enough; anyways dear readers probably Mr. Chacalon was not so well educated and courteous like that guy, but due to that final episode that I watched on TV, showed me that he was way more respectful than him, is not it…..!

See you next time.

Jorge Horna…..