Denis Bider:

If I come into your office in jeans and a T-shirt, I'm not disrespecting you, because wearing such an outfit doesn't mean disrespect in my world. It's an outfit I like to wear and which I find myself comfortable in. Likewise, although I myself would never wear a suit, I respect your decision to wear it and might admire how well it fits you.

This is all in response to this post I made awhile back. Let me try to explain what's wrong with that "accept whatever I'm doing" attitude - it excuses nearly anything. How about picking your nose in public? Or refusing to wash regularly, so that you smell bad? They're the same thing, and what they are is impolite. In social settings, politeness exists to reduce friction. People who don't get that are - whether they realize it or not - increasing the social friction between people.

Put another way, it's one thing to put your feet on the coffee table at home, and something else again when you do it while visiting.

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