Flood-frayed tempers delivered a timely reminder to show a little respect

Aretha Franklin spelled it out for us in 1965 and her mantra of R-E-S-P-E-C-T continues to echo across the streets of Wagga as Respect Week gets into full swing.

Today (Nov 15) is Respect Day and the crew at the Black Crow coffee van in Estella has been busy spreading the message to motorists as they prepare to enter the traffic grind on Gobba Bridge.

Like dozens of cafes across the city, they are serving their beverages in cheery purple-and-yellow cups bearing a reminder to “plant respect and watch it grow …”, the perfect message for frustrated drivers in need of patience and courtesy as the region wades through this sodden spring.

Respect Week founder Ronda Lampe says the team from Respect Awareness Inc has distributed almost 30,000 cups along with banners, balloons and stickers.

“You might have a coffee in town or with friends and you might just stop and think about what that word means and how you might treat other people with more respect,” she explains.

“The adults get their coffee cups and the younger ones all get their stickers from daycare through to year 12.”

Ronda also wants Wagga to turn out in something yellow or purple to mark the day and to think about their place in the community.

“Just wear something in our colours, purple or yellow, as a reminder,” she says.

“They just might see the word and think nothing of it, but others might pause and think about how they show respect to others.

“Maybe if people thought more about respect we wouldn’t have all this trouble”

The seed for Respect Week was planted at a public meeting in 1997 where Ronda spelled out her concerns over dwindling respect, and over the past 25 years it has grown to become an important community event widely supported by schools, clubs and businesses.

LaNiece Dillon is the treasurer of Respect Awareness and says the aim is to bring Wagga a gentle reminder in many areas.

“Any little thing that you can do to bring kindness and awareness to how we treat each other is, I think, helpful for everyone,” she says, indicating the diverse faces grinning from the back of a Wagga City bus.

“I think that’s something that while you’re driving, hopefully, it brings awareness on the roadways of being a respectful driver.”

There is also a strong multicultural message again this year, and brochures have been printed in multiple languages to help the region’s many migrants to connect with community and services.

“One of the board members was in a doctor’s waiting room and there were people from other countries looking at the information on the wall,” Ronda says.

“Things like ambulance or hospitals or health numbers, but the people couldn’t read the information because it wasn’t in their language.

“And that’s the idea of the pamphlets that are available in four different languages to let people know about respect, but also all these key numbers and information in their language.”

Ronda says it is about spreading lots of little reminders to “Stop … Think … Respect”.

Today (Tuesday, 15 November) is Respect Day, and Respect Week runs until 19 November.