“He Who Knocks on the Door Should Expect an Answer” (Palestinian–Jordanian dialect proverb) There was a young man named Basel who never knew how to speak to people politely or respectfully. If a coworker made a small mistake, he’d embarrass them in front of everyone. And if someone disagreed with him, he’d raise his voice and say hurtful things. He always excused his rude behavior by saying, “That’s just who I am. I say whatever’s on my mind.” His friends advised him over and over: “Tone it down. People have feelings and deserve respect.” But Basel never listened. He would laugh and say, “If they don’t like it, that’s their problem.” One day, there was a meeting at work. Basel started criticizing one of his coworkers in front of everyone, mocking him and making fun of him. His coworker stayed quiet. But after the meeting, Basel needed that same coworker’s help with an important project. The coworker simply replied, “Figure it out yourself… just like you always tell everyone else.” The rest of the team refused to help him as well. Basel was upset and said, “Seriously? You all turned against me?” The manager had overheard the conversation. He looked at Basel and said, “Basel… if you knock on the door, you should expect an answer.” Basel fell silent. He finally realized that the way he had treated other people had come back to him. From that day on, he started speaking to others with respect because he understood that what goes around comes around. Meaning of the proverb “He who knocks on the door should expect an answer” is said when someone starts a problem or behaves badly toward others, then gets upset when people respond in a way they don’t like. It means that you should be prepared to face the consequences of your own actions—because the reaction you receive is often the result of how you chose to behave.