:salamext:
i react to different situations differently depending on their given conditions.
if you're talking about general disrespect then i think that's inevitable. everyone gets that - maybe different amounts, but not everyone's going to exactly jump up with joy when you walk into the room. on a personal level, i'm not really shown much disrespect on a daily basis. i was never one to be bullied. i'm the more up front character, if you will - i'm not implying people are scared of me as such, but i just know how to stand up for myself. people obviously try it with me but once they know me they know i'm not one to be messed with. again, that's not to be seen as a threat; i just know my place and know how to stick up for myself. that's quite an accomplishment seeing as i'm in a separate gender society for most of my day, and while that has its obvious benefits, the people around you tend to be quite patronising.
when i'm at home, i'm more reserved. i'm generally an uptight person who is pretty hot tempered, and i recognise that and need to definitely work on that major flaw insha'Allah, but i spend a lot of my time on my own because i have no siblings. my dad is usually at work or watching tv, lol, and when my mum's not doing housework, she sits with me and we spend time together, and there's a nice atmosphere in the house.
when it comes to people insulting my deen then it's a different story. i don't exactly bring out the guns and swords in the middle of class but i'm at the age where people start to form their own opinions and think they know everything. i've even seem some muslimahs slandering Islam, audhubillah... like today, for instance. i was talking to a non muslim girl and a fellow muslimah and we were on the topic of men and marriage. the non muslim girl asked if we get arranged marriages and i basically explained the islamic stance on marriage and how the build up to nikah should be carried out. then the other muslimah spoke up and had the nerve to say that it was a backwards practice and only traditional pakistanis carry that tradition out. i don't know what experience she had which made her say that but i know her parents had what you would call a 'love' marriage aka they actually dated first. i managed set her straight and, subhan'Allah, by the end of it, the non muslim girl was more accepting of the idea and thought it was sensible compared to the muslimah who thought it was a 'stupid cultural practice and muslims are allowed to date'.
the above example isn't what you would call direct disrespect but it's the closest i can really give at the mo. i used to hang out with a group of non muslims who were against islamic values. it wasn't upfront disrespect but it was hinted and was definitely there and it drove me away from them. the more i got into the deen, the more questions they asked. the more questions i answered, the more they thought islam was 'backwards', audhubillah. for example, one of them said they didn't get the whole israel-palestine conflict and thought that muslims were making a mountain of a molehill out of the whole situation - after they read about a dozen articles on the casualties in palestine and the whole situation and about israel's violent side. i don't get this sort of intolerance daily - and when i do it's more 'subtle'.
i'm not very good at dealing with disrespect, i have to say. people avoid getting into 'debates' with me because they tend to get very heated. i think i'm a bit over sensitive and the things people come out with make me uber suspicious and i just lash out. when i get angry, i burn up and go very hot and red. sometimes my eyes become damp although i'm not sad and i always blush hotly although i'm not embarrassed. it might be a natural reaction thing but i think i should work on it insha'Allah.
wow, i need to stop writing essays. lol.
