Hi All,

Contact Professionals familiar with the teachings of Verbal Judo should immediately reflect on George Thompson’s great teaching on the difference between respect and RE-spect. If you’re not familiar with this, seek out Doc Thompson’s perennial classic. If you actually follow the discipline of Verbal Judo, then you know that there are, literally, no times in life when you’re not showing all people (regardless of circumstances) respect.

This is a powerful teaching and also one that appears to get treated like how people treat scripture, that is, where people pick and choose what their egos prefer, leaving out what their ego does not like. Imagine if we suddenly had a pandemic of people treating all others (regardless of circumstances) with dignity by showing them respect. Yes, this could transform what we call everyday reality. Do you realize what stands in the way of transforming reality in this direction, a direction that would contain less conflict in every area of life? I’ll give you a hint; it’s closer to you than you’re own nose. It’s ego. Ego is the enemy.

By the way, I realize (because they’re quick to voice it) that some Contact Professionals like to question the “regardless of circumstances” part. Their critique often falls into one of two buckets. They react by stating “Well, if he’s being a real asshole to me, you expect me to be respectful?” Yes, I expect you to show respect. Train yourself in the psychology and tactics of Verbal Judo and you’ll see why and how we show respect to everyone (study respect and RE-spect).

Or they say, “Well, how am I supposed to be respectful when I have to use force against him/her to stop a threat?” This comment betrays a woefully unsophisticated training methodology and/or an ego-dominated person whose blinders (often collectively shared in certain occupations) cannot allow him/her to see other, better, saner, safer, ways of being a Contact Professional and a decent Human Being.

It really comes down to whether we strive to be a Contact Professional or merely a contact amateur. The benefits of the work of the former cascade way beyond the immediate situation that s/he is managing. The Contact Professional leaves people better than they find them. The contact amateur will often leave people worse off.

And…guess what…the Contact Professional stays physically safer by making sure to always show respect to people. A person being shown disrespect is more likely to become escalated, more likely to become agitated, more likely to revert to physical violence than is the person to whom respect is being shown.

Let me make sure you hear this message clearly. If you or your colleagues are showing disrespect to people, you or they are creating conditions conducive to LESS PHYSICAL SAFETY. You or they are creating more unsafe conditions for yourself and others.

The future is created right now with our actions and thus the Contact Professional and the contact amateur are contributing to the creation of very different futures, very different experiences, very different memories, very different atmospheres of safety.

The Contact Professional is trauma-responsive and is striving to not add any more trauma than the person may have on board already.

The contact amateur is like a bull in a china shop, knocking over things, breaking things, and contributing to nothing positive.

Consider the value of being a Contact Professional. It helps you and your colleagues go home safely everyday. And it helps your fellow man, if not to be better off, to at least be no worse off after contact with you.

Until later,

robert