Hello @philipkavan, I couldn't bother less about earning "their" respect, I treat people like people and I think all people deserve respect, thats just me, never liked kissing asses.
But I do feel sympathy for people less privileged (and I am not fishing for whale-votes with this post) I just think we should think about how much more value this community would generate towards the "steem-blockchain" if there was just a small improvement in the distribution of wealth, the ripple effect and the growth would be tremendous and benefit everyone.
Cheers and thanks for your comment!
/FF