Being respectful toward others: is it an unwritten rule or an optional trait? This was the question asked when Damascus High School student Brandon Salvador had his picture taken while using the urinal at school.

The incident occurred in the boy’s bathroom when Salvador was using the bathroom with his pants dropped around his knees. A student saw Salvador’s stance and thought that it would be funny to document it on Snapchat. Salvador has autism and did not understand the situation fully.

According to a Dec. 2018 ABC7 article, Salvador was unaware of his picture being taken in the bathroom. In his mind, you go to the bathroom to use it, not to take pictures.

Because there had been incidents of sexual misconduct at the school, the students should have been more aware of their actions towards others.This is especially true because the outcomes of these actions are clearly displayed as the students involved in the sexual misconduct incidents were charged as adults.

Besides the fact that Salvador had autism and was unable to fully understand the situation, it should be easy to realize that performing an action like this to any person is harsh and it should not be taken lightly.

Without question, being kind or even just courteous to others should be instinctive, instead of a choice. Once a person begins to perform acts of kindness unconsciously such as holding the door open for the person behind them, or saying thank you, overtime the effects are increasingly positive.

According to a June 2018 Psychology Today article, during a study of a workplace in Spain, employees who received acts of kindness became happier, and those who delivered the acts of kindness not only showed a similar trend towards increased happiness, but also had an increase in life satisfaction and job satisfaction, and a decrease in depression.

If the effects of simple kindness are overwhelmingly positive, why do some people still perform cruel actions such as this very incident? It brings up the question of whether or not the human race is losing morals of respectfulness and kindness.

Although one can say that the photographer’s actions were harmless and that he only thought of it as a joke, it is important to weigh the outcome of their actions. No moral person would think that taking a picture of someone using the bathroom, with their body exposed, had their best intentions in mind.

It is terrible enough that actions like these occur everyday. Every person should think twice before acting on a thought, and think about the outcome of their actions. Morals are drilled into our heads as children to learn right from wrong and at times like these, they are crucial to teaching how one should be a decent person.