Scale of Respect

"I'll consider knocking you and Susan up my scale of Respect each by 2 points (0=No Respect...10=Respect)."

The Scale of Respect is a fine example of Chris using video game terminology to describe his feelings towards other people due to his lack of social interaction. It was mentioned in a 2004 e-mail to Mary Lee Walsh.

Autistics tend to view the world in absolute values. Since they have trouble expressing subtle differences with such intangible concepts as "respect", Chris might be putting the differences of respect between, say, a schoolteacher to a pedophile, in literal physical terms that he's familiar with to better understand the concept. While even small children don't resort to such retardation, instead learning about it through "give and take", it boggles the mind that even in his thirties, he still clings to this system of treating respect as if it were steps on a ladder.

While sociologists have done surveys, made graphs and written papers to find out which professions the average American feels the most respect for (the top 3 being Doctor, Soldier and Teacher, in that order), it's difficult to say which person you have more respect for when things like authority are taken into account, because one respects authority (or at least pretends to) out of survival. According to Chris's "Scale of Respect", things like authority aren't even considered, meaning that he can't differentiate between the concepts of "respect" and "authority" or understand that the two often blend together. This is likely the reason for his troubles with Mary Lee Walsh, whom at the time of her run in with Chris was the Dean of Student Affairs, giving her authority over student activities, including the ability to forbid pathetic man-children from employing retarded methods of attracting attention from the opposite sex. Chris also believes that his "respect" is valid to use as a bargaining chip during negotiation.

After the E-mail to Mary Lee Walsh, this is never brought up again, nor was it ever brought up beforehand.