With Due Respect: Difference between revisions

[[File:with_due_respect_sm_9557with due respect sm 9557.png|link=Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|rightframe]]

{{quote|''"Why is it that whenever someone says 'with all due respect', they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"''|'''Ashley Williams''', ''[[Mass Effect]]''}}

In an unquestionably hierarchical situation -- oftensituation—often with legally enforceable prerogatives -- aprerogatives—a junior argues with a senior.

The junior has very good odds of being right, since he is confident despite what his senior thinks, or says he thinks. The more diffident the junior is about making the objection, the more likely it is that he is right (and objecting out of the purest sense of duty). Sometimes the junior merely keeps his complaints to himself, and his displeasure is merely manifested non-verbally. The senior may have to order him to express his views -- repeatedlyviews—repeatedly; he may decline "with respect" the first time.

{{quote| '''Officer:''' We have been waiting for you, Mr. Darlian. A military car is waiting for you outside. Please proceed quickly.<br />

'''Darlian:''' Right away? That won't do. I have some things to take care of first for my daughter's birthday.<br />

'''Officer:''' I have arranged for a separate car to take your daughter.<br />

{{quote| '''Jeanette''': Blake, please inform our leader in the most polite and respectful of terms that I am not following his order.<br />

* In ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131020231815/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/facetiousnights/night4_fable1.html Costanza / Costanzo]'', Costanza expresses her [[Child Marriage Veto]] with this

{{quote| ''Next - speaking with all submission and reverence - I do not purpose to let myself fall be low [[Royal Blood|the race of my ancestors]], who from all time have been famous and illustrious, nor do I wish to debase the crown you wear by taking for [[Blue Blood|a husband one who is our inferior]]. You, my beloved father, have begotten four daughters, of whom you have married three in the most honourable fashion to three mighty kings, giving with them great store of gold and wide domains, but you wish to dispose of me, who have ever been obedient to you and observant of your precepts, in an ignoble alliance. Wherefore I tell you, to end my speech, that I will never take a husband unless I can be mated, like my three sisters, to a king of a rank that is my due.''}}

{{quote| '''Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard''': ''Sheriff Rawlins, with all due respect, I'd like to suggest check points on a 15 mile radius out here on I-57, I-20 and on route 13 out of Chester...''}}

{{quote| '''Kathy Williams''': Sandy, you're the only person I know who can make "Yes, Ma'am" sound like "screw you".<br />

{{quote| '''Ricky''': With all due respect, I didn't know you underwent an experimental procedure to have your balls removed.<br />

'''Dennit''': ...''excuse'' me?!<br />

'''Ricky''': [[Invoked Trope|I said "with all due respect".]]<br />

'''Dennit''': [[Lampshade Hanging|That doesn't mean you get to say whatever you want to me.]]<br />

{{quote| '''General McClintock:''' With all due respect, Colonel Daniels, if you do not follow us to Travis Air Force Base, I will blow you out of the sky. <br />

{{quote| '''Jamie''': Well if it isn't Humpty Numpty...<br />

'''Simon''': What is this, surround bollocking?<br />

{{quote| '''Eunice Bloom''': "With all due respect"... man, I hate it when people say that because it is inevitably followed by a disrespectful remark. Here, let me give you an example: With all due respect detective, this matter falls under whatever jurisdiction I [[Precision F-Strike|fuckin’]] say it does.}}

* From [[Titanic|Titanic:]]

{{quote| '''Rose:''' You're crazy!<br />

{{quote| '''Dodge:''' Since when did the rules ever apply to you?<br />

'''Graham:''' Watch it! Don't you realise that you are addressing a superior officer?<br />

{{quote| '''Gene Kranz:''' With all due respect, sir, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.}}

* [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] examples:

** In [[Dan Abnett]]'s [[GauntsGaunt's Ghosts]] novel ''His Last Command'', Commissar Kanow tries to bludgeon into Junior Commissar Ludd that there is no need to investigate the story of certain "deserters and heretics", even though some of it could be corroborated; Ludd still demurs. Which is why {{spoiler|Gaunt and his team take [[Hostage Situation|Kanow hostage]] and, when he [[If I Wanted You Dead...|cannot be reasoned with]], get Ludd to contact their higher-ups.}}

*** In [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''False Gods'', Petronella Vivar tells Horus that if he think he can bully her, he can go to hell -- sirhell—sir. (He had [[First-Name Basis|told her to call him "Horus"]].) He laughs, she is certain he will never appoint her as his remembrancer, and he appoints her on the spot.

*** In [[James Swallow]]'s ''Flight of the Eisenstein'', while waiting on a crippled ship to see who the Imperial forces that found them were, the ship's captain checks what he is saying, and Garro urges him to speak: [[Fire-Forged Friends|their experiences together]] should permit candor. Later, when {{spoiler|Dorn}} [[Talk to Thethe Fist|strikes]] Garro [[Bearer of Bad News|for telling him of Horus's treachery]], Qruze tells him he must hear him out. {{spoiler|Dorn}} roars that Qruze ought to have been retired, and he ''dares'' give him an order. Qruze points out that he could have broken Garro's neck with the blow, and didn't; he knew Garro's words had value and wanted the complete truth. He listens to the rest. At the end he accuses Garro of insanity; Garro counter-accuses him of blindness.

{{quote| ''Sir, without wishing to appear impertinent, are you sure that's the right choice?''}}

***::* Later, when Fulgrim comes to Ferrus Manus, one of Ferrus Manus's captains, Santar, complains of the arrogance of Fulgrim's legion, angering Ferrus Manus; he apologizes for speaking out of turn, and Ferrus Manus, no longer angry, tells him that he spoke from the heart, which is what he values him for.

*:* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Blood Angels (Literature)|Blood Angels]] novel ''Red Fury'', Brother-Sergeant Rafen interrupts two Chapter Masters who are obviously about to quarrel with the comment that this was not the place.

*:* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Brothers of the Snake]]'', when Petrok is ordering Priad to prepare his squad, Priad starts to say "with respect" and Petrok explodes that Priad should show some respect. Then he apologizes, but he still insists on overriding Priad though he does explain why.

*:* In Nick Kyme's [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] novel ''[[Salamanders (Literature)|Salamander]]'', when N'keln proposes returning for [[Revenge]], Dak'ir says "with respect, sir" that the enemy would have left by now.

**::* Later, Dak'ir orders Emek to tell him what he is thinking, despite his expressed desire to not appear insubordinate. When Emek reveals that soldiers are wondering whether Dak'ir was responsible for their captain's death, Dak'ir briefly considers punishing him -- buthim—but he had asked him.

*:* Inverted in C. S. Goto's [[Blood Ravens]] trilogy, when a Chaplain questions Gabriel's plan and Gabriel rages at him, the Chaplain asks for forgiveness, and Gabriel says there is no need to talk of forgiveness; he values the Chaplain's questions but must ask the Chaplain to trust him this time.

* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]' ''Whose Body'', a junior doctor takes it upon himself to say at the inquest that he thought the dead man might have lingered several days, although Sir Julian Freke says he died at once. The junior doctor is very diffident about it, but [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] points out that this is evidence: The young doctor had to be very certain to go against such an eminent authority.

* [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Discworld]] story ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'' ([[With Due Respect/Quotes|quote]]).

** Also used in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]'', when [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Reacher Gilt uses the phrase ''three times'' over the course of telling the Patrician, basically, "We can do what we like and you can't stop us". The Patrician [[Deadpan Snarker|sardonically]] notes that such a great amount of respect is gratifying.

* ''[[America the(The Book)|America: The Book]]'' uses the trope for a C-Span drinking game.

* Characters in [[Star Trek: New Frontier]] are fond of mentioning how the least respectful things they hear are usually preceded by "With all due respect".

{{quote| '''Jellico:''' Just once I'd like it if someone coupled the phrase 'with all due respect' with some sort of sentiment that was genuinely respectful.}}

* Made the subject of a joke in [[Star Trek: Vanguard]] by Captain Nassir and Commander Terrell:

{{quote| "I assume that was said with all due respect?"<br />

{{quote| "Trust me, Captain," Pellaeon said, trying hard not to smile as his mind suddenly flashed back [[The Thrawn Trilogy|ten years]]. Then, he'd been the earnest captain standing on this same deck, trying in the most diplomatic way possible to make his superior see sense in the middle of a tense combat situation. [...] And yet Thrawn [[Reasonable Authority Figure|had never reprimanded him]] for his impertinence and lack of understanding. He had merely continued calmly with his plans, allowing the results to speak for themselves.}}

{{quote| '''Crespin''': "After due consideration and review, I think it's a terrible idea."}}

* From one of [[PGP. G. Wodehouse (Creator)|PG Wodehouse]]'s ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (Literaturenovel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' books:

{{quote| "I don't want to seem always to be criticizing your methods of voice production, Jeeves," I said, "but I must inform you that that 'Well, sir' of yours is in many respects fully as unpleasant as your 'Indeed, sir?' Like the latter, it seems to be tinged with a definite scepticism. It suggests a lack of faith in my vision. The impression I retain after hearing you shoot it at me a couple of times is that you consider me to be talking through the back of my neck, and that only a feudal sense of what is fitting restrains you from substituting for it the words 'Says you!'"}}

* Inverted in [[CSC. LewisS. (Creator)Lewis|CS Lewis]]'s [[Prince Caspian]], after a long debate in which Trumpkin maintains that sending someone to look for Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy is foolish, but Caspian decides otherwise, [[Sour Supporter|Trumpkin volunteers to go]], much to Caspian's surprise. He explains to Caspian that having given his advice, now he must take orders; he knows the difference.

* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[The Golden Oecumene (Literature)|The Golden Transcedence]]'', Atkins gives [[Empathic Weapon|his knife]] an order; it asks for a written, notarized copy. Atkins knows that the only reason it would do so would be to preserve that information for a court martial; no soldier would ask for such for a lawful order. He tells the knife of how his uncle taught him that good and evil, if real, are irrelevant; [[Might Makes Right]]. The knife asks for permission to speak frankly before pointing out that his uncle, by his own account, also ''lost'' and therefore was, by that logic, wrong.

* The equivalent phrase, in multiple [[Larry Niven]]/[[Jerry Pournelle]] novels is "That turns out not to be the case", originating in the novel ''[[The Mote in GodsGod's Eye]]'':

{{quote| '''Renner''': Wrong!<br />

'''Blaine''': The tactful way, the polite way to disagree with the Senator would be to say, 'That turns out not to be the case.'<br />

'''Renner''': Hey, I like that. Anyway, the Senator's wrong.<br />

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[ProsperosProspero's Daughter]]'', Mab frequently starts off with "Begging your pardon." {{spoiler|At the end, he says it to Prospero, and then withdraws it, not letting habit trump his new freedom.}}

{{quote| '''George Steinbrenner:''' Nice to meet you.<br />

'''George Costanza:''' Well, I wish I could say the same, but I must say, with all due respect, I find it very hard to see the logic behind some of the moves you have made with this fine organization. In the past twenty years, you have caused myself, and the city of New York, a good deal of distress as we have watched you take our beloved Yankees and reduced them to a laughingstock, all for the glorification of your massive ego.<br />

* In the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined(2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', this is always prefaced by Starbuck asking for permission to speak plainly, since a subordinate is supposed to be quiet unless the superior says so. Of course, the one time Adama tells her no, the matter is not under discussion, she's amazed.

* ''[[Twenty Four|24]]''

{{quote| '''Jack Bauer''': ''With all due respect, Mr. President, sixteen hours ago your people were willing to hand me over for dead, and I did not hesitate.''}}

* ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]''

{{quote| '''Mayor Laskov''': ''With all due respect, sir, I don't think Colonel Smith's unorthodox strategies will be very effective in the face of a court martial. The A-Team will discover that the element of surprise is ours this time.''}}

* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''

{{quote| '''Michael Vaughn''': ''Jack, he just lost his wife. I mean, with all due respect, why are you fighting with me on this?''}}

{{quote| '''Greg Sanders''': ''Well, with all due respect, sir, it's not a baked potato.''}}

* ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]''

{{quote| '''Lister''': ''With all due respect sir, what's in it for the cat?''}}

{{quote| '''Rimmer''': ''With respect, sir, you've got your head right up your big fat arse.''}}

* ''[[Star Trek: theThe Next Generation]]''

{{quote| '''Commander William T. Riker''': ''With all due respect, sir - you need me. Particularly now.''}}

* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''

{{quote| '''Odo''': With all due respect, Commander, you don't know me well enough to gauge my state of mind<br />

''(a moment later)''<br />

{{quote| '''Chief O'Brien''': With all due respect sir, we -- we weren't brawling.}}

{{quote| '''Dr. Bashir''': With all due respect, are out of your mind?!}}

* ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''

{{quote| '''Captain Kathryn Janeway''': ''With all due respect, Dr. Frazier, you were one harmonious family bent on the violent assimilation of innocent cultures.''}}

* It's used quite regularly in ''[[Stargate SG -1]]''

{{quote| '''Daniel''': ''Sir, with all due respect, the good senator is an ass.''}}

{{quote| Well, with ''no'' due respect, General, that's just plain stupid.}}

{{quote| '''Carter''': With all due respect, sir, [insert technobabble here].}}

{{quote| '''Humphrey''': ''And, with respect, Minister-''<br />

'''Hacker''': ''Don't-don't use that filthy language to me, Humphrey.''<br />

'''Humphrey''': ''Filthy language, Minister?''<br />

{{quote| '''Inspector Frost:''' ''With all due respect, sir...''<br />

{{quote| '''Posca:''' With all respect, sir, but until the will is ratified I am bound to serve the Julii and I must request that you not forcibly remove my mistress. With all respect.}}

{{quote| '''Ally''': I mean, with all due respect, you sort of walk around with uppity breasts...and the hair flips aren't the most subtle...and your perfume! You could be flammable! Now what if somebody shut you down as a safety hazard. How would you feel then?<br />

* ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]'':

{{quote| '''Karen''': I know you're my superior, so I say this with all due respect. ''How stupid are you?''}}

{{quote| [while [[Neck Lift|choking]] him] '' 'With all due respect'? Oh, I am due a ''lot'' more respect than that.''}}

* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S15 E6/E06 The Invasion of Time|The Invasion Of Time]]'', Borusa postfixes his comments with "I meant no disrespect."

** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S6 E1/E01 The Dominators|The Dominators]]'', the subordinate's fractious and violent nature leads to frequent insubordination, once prefixed with this.

{{quote| '''Tony''': All due respect, you got no fuckin' idea what it's like to be Number One. Every decision you make affects every facet of every other fuckin' thing. It's too much to deal with almost. And in the end you're completely alone with it all.}}

* In ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'', Jeff Winger is unsurprisingly blunt in his usage of this trope when confronting Pierce's father: "With all due respect, I have ''zero'' respect for you."

* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''

{{quote| '''Taub''': With all due respect--<br />

{{quote| '''Doc Bryan''': Are you asking me to speak frankly, sir?<br />

'''Encino Man''': Yes, well...<br />

'''Doc Bryan''': Well, sir, it's just that you're incompetent, sir.<br />

'''Encino Man''': I'm doing the best I can.<br />

* An arc of [[Dilbert]] had the employees realize that if they insulted the boss after saying [[With Due Respect]], he'd accept it as constructive criticism no matter what.

{{quote| '''[[Pointy-Haired Boss]]''': Alice - I've noticed a disturbing trend - the solution to the problem is always the ''last'' thing you try.<br />

'''Alice''': With all due respect, are you using your skull to store old rocks or what?!<br />

*:* In the very next strip, Alice relates this information to the others, and Wally takes advantage of it by asking "With all due respect, is that your face or is a monkey climbing down your neck backwards?"

*:* And in another strip:

{{quote| '''Dilbert:''' "I'd like permission to keep a plastic plant in my cubicle."<br />

'''Cubicle Police:''': "Permission denied! Plants attract bugs! If I can't tell it's fake how will the bugs be able to tell?"<br />

'''Dilbert:''' "With all due respect, bugs are way smarter than you."<br />

**:* See the strips in question [http://search.dilbert.com/comic/With%20All%20Due%20Respect here].

* In ''[[Old HarrysHarry's Game]]'', Scumspawn starts a sentence with "with respect" when protesting about being disintegrated, and Satan calls it "a meaningless form of words that people use just before they tell you you're talking bollocks". The Professor then says Satan is only disintegrating Scumspawn because he feels threatened by a demon growing as an individual, to which Satan replies "Well, with respect..."

== VideogamesVideo Games ==

** The hilarious thing is that the page quote is when Ashley was arguing with a ''superior'' -- Lt—Lt. Kaidan only prefaced his remarks with the 'all due respect' line because he's excessively polite.

* In ''[[TalesOrder of the QuestorStick]], when'': [http://www.rhjuniorgiantitp.com/totqcomics/00573oots0467.html tryingpersuading to argueHinjo] that ahe pollutantshould mustleave, behis dealtcity withhaving becausealready passed [[In Its Hour of Need]], even though "it isisn't notreally onemy isolatedplace to casesay."

* ''[[Erfworld]]'': Duncan urges a new path on Queen Jillian

* ''[[Underling]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20130522031612/http://underlingcomic.com/page-sixty-six/ Lazarus admits to Ganesh, with all due respect, that if he were back home he would probably still argue that Ganesh does not exist.]

* ''[[Futurama (Animation)|Futurama]]''

{{quote| '''Joey Mousepad''': With all due respect, Donbot, [[Make It Look Like an Accident|I don't think we should rely on an accident to happen]]. [[Comically Missing the Point|Let's kill him ourselves.]]}}

* ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]''

{{quote| '''Iago''': With all due respect, [[Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad|Your Rottenness]], couldn't we just wait for a ''real'' storm?}}

* Spydor of ''[[Captain Simian and& Thethe Space Monkeys (Animation)|Captain Simian and The Space Monkeys]]'' takes this trope and runs with it. He often adds a "And I mean that with all due respect" after scathing or sarcastic comments.

* Played with on ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' with "Permission to say that's crazy, sir." [[What Happened to Thethe Mouse?|He never does get permission...]]

* In one of ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'''s many cutaway gags, Cap'n Crunch wants a mob boss to order a hit on a rival cereal mascot for spreading damn lies! My cereal does not cut kids' mouths! ...with respect.

** Also applies at very senior levels -- generalslevels—generals have staffs, which they are well advised to listen to before jumping to a conclusion, precisely because no one person can know everything. For that matter, you can generalize this to non-military senior management positions as well, although quite often it's entirely ignored by bad managers.

* Done ''literally'' by Joschka Fischer, member of the German Green Party, in 1984. Fischer, then member of the German Bundestag, addressed Richard Stücklen, then vice president of the Bundestag, who had suspended a party member of Fischer's: "With respect, Mr. President, you are an asshole." Fischer later became one of Germany's most popular--ifpopular—if not beloved--politiciansbeloved—politicians, and was Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs under [[The Chancellors of Germany|Gerhard Schröder]] (1998-2005).