I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes.  What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself.  To undermine a man's self-respect is a sin.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.  ~Laurence Sterne


You punch me, I punch back.  I do not believe it's good for ones self-respect to be a punching bag.  ~Edward Koch