Mrs. Starling, an English teacher I had my freshman year of high school, was the same way on both counts. I respected her because she didn’t take any shit. She gave me my first (but not last) school suspension for fighting.
A week? Try half an hour. 
Me, because I’m soft-spoken I tend to get treated like a doormat. That’s why I married a loud-spoken woman – so I can sic her on them. 
My flaws are that I always think of something good to say after I’ve had a conversation, and people find it strange also, because I don’t like football.
Thanks a lot God!
Lizard - I’m from the South West of England. I have a non-descript, middle-classish southern accent. I live in South Cumbria, way up in the north of England. Most people here have strong Barrow or Lancashire accents. I’ve picked up a touch of Lancashire in the 4 years I’ve lived here, but I still think that people hear my voice and think “stuck up posh bitch” or “poncey rich London whore”. I know I’ll always be an “off-comer” (a person Not From Around Here), but I have a slight paranoia about being percieved as the very worst kind of off-comer. When I think about it rationally, I realise that in fact the local folk round here are actually relatively accepting. When I try to point out that the place where I grew up is actually very similar to the place where I live now, and that I grew up hundreds of miles from London, it seems to help.
I am not really sure how people perceive me. I know I’ve shocked a few people by cussing. Their eyes get as wide as saucers and they just can’t believe it. I do cuss more than I should, but usually at home, not out and about.
I’ve also had people assume that I am “smart and educated”. It isn’t like I’m dumb and uneducated, but I sometimes think they overestimate my knowledge and abilities. I think some of it has to do with my vocabularly. I know that sounds weird to fellow Dopers, because anyone who knows me here knows that my vocabulary is just average. But Dopers are not “average”, are we?
I have been told more than once that I “talk funny”. Or, I get odd blank looks at some of the words I use (like “cathartic” or “lascivious”). I mean, come on! That’s just English I’m speakin’ there! I am almost positive that a few times I have used words that my supervisor (who has had more formal education than I have, or at least I assume so) did not understand my vocabulary! How scary is that? And by that I mean, it says something about him, not about me and my average and ordinary vocabulary.
I also think I get treated with some respect (or in some cases, jealousy amongst the more petty and small-minded) because I am very enthusiastic about my interests. I’ve got a lot of hobbies and interests. People seem to respect my enthusiasm.