The Ten Year Honour Gap
Lately – I’d say since hovering around 50 years of age – I’ve experienced… not quite a lack of respect… it’s more like a subconscious, bordering on smug, dismissal of sorts from some (thankfully not all) folks around 10 years my junior. And it’s not so much direct, obvious disrespect. It’s more like: I’m in my prime, I know my stuff. That’s why I’m talking and you’re listening because, quite frankly, what could I possibly learn from someone your age? If I recall correctly, I’d have to say I also experienced it when I was 40ish from people who were 30ish; and although the memory gets tenuous with each 10 year gap, I’m sure I experienced it at 30ish from people who were 20ish. Hence the title: “The Ten Year Honour Gap”. I should point out that if I were to examine myself for all of one minute, I’d remember instances when I was 30ish knowing individuals who were 40ish for whom I had marginalized respect albeit mostly sub-conscious and through a solid veneer of politeness. I thin