I learned a lot of life lessons from my dad when I was a kid, which really isn’t surprising given he’s an educator. I learned a lot of important lessons, but I can’t say they all stuck with me. One of those childhood lessons that I’ve come across repeatedly as I’ve gotten older is a very simple saying that was often said in my house: “don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”

It was a saying I heard so frequently in my house due to the fact that I was the sassiest little kid, and, of course, I had a big brother that liked to do everything in his power to draw out my sass. Every chance we got as children, we pestered each other endlessly; but since I was so young, I often couldn’t take it when he teased me. I would go after him with every ounce of sass in my little four-year-old body, but the second he turned it all back on me, I would go crying and frustrated to my dad. Every time my dad would say to me, “don’t dish it out of you can’t take it.”

That’s a lesson I’m so glad I learned at such a young age. When I could take what my brother would inevitably throw back at me, I could be as sassy as my small heart desired. But if I couldn’t handle his insults, I had no right to insult him.

I wish more people had someone like my dad teaching them that lesson. Far too often, people seem to believe that they can speak their mind about everything under the sun, no matter how rude. But the minute anyone contradicts them, they get defensive and aggressive.

Don’t dish it out of you can’t take it.

Why would people ever think that it’s acceptable to spout off their opinion but not allow anyone else the same rights? It’s pure, undiluted entitlement. In addition to this mindset, technology is also encouraging the disease of entitlement and making it fester.

Now people find themselves with a platform to spread their opinions to a vast number of people without having to deal with people’s reactions. People can say whatever they want and then turn off their notifications so they don’t have to take peoples backlash. And it’s not okay.

I understand that many people weren’t raised with a dad like mine and that “don’t dish it out if you can’t take it” wasn’t a common saying in every household. All it takes though is a little bit of logic mixed with a dash of humanity, and anyone could see that dishing it out and running away isn’t acceptable.