R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the Ages

“Respect is not given, it is earned.” Sound familiar? A theme that I seem to be coming across, a lot, is the idea that there are caveats for who and when someone gets treated with respect. My question: Are these exceptions that are being laid out more along the lengths of justifications for our choices to not lead with respect and excuse the behavior without the culpability?