Most of the guys in JD’s neighborhood thought “respect” meant never backing down and always calling out disrespect with louder disrespect. Feelings were for jokes, not real conversations.
At an IDW meetup, the leader set up chairs in a circle and wrote one rule on the board: “No clowning when someone’s being real.” Then he asked, “What does respect look like to you, for real?”
At first, everyone played it safe—“don’t talk about my mom,” “don’t touch my stuff.” Then one quiet guy said, “Respect looks like someone checking on me when I go silent instead of just assuming I’m good.” The room shifted. Another admitted, “Respect is when you don’t use my secrets as ammo later.”
JD realized he’d broken both of those and had it done to him. Empathy stopped sounding soft and started sounding necessary.
Later that week, when his friend went quiet after a joke hit too hard, JD pulled him aside. “Yo, you straight?” he asked. The conversation that followed was messy but real.
Orange Shield wasn’t about being liked; it was about making the group safer than the streets ever were.
IDW is built for thinkers, fighters, and believers — people who trust their intuition, move with purpose, and push through adversity. This brand merges warrior-energy with modern minimalism to create apparel that feels both strong and thoughtful. Every piece is a reminder: move with instinct, stand with courage.
https://justdoinglife.com/brand/intuitive-determined-warrior-idw
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