How do Cheever and Parris degrade Proctor in The Crucible?

I'm not sure that Cheever degrades John Proctor, but he does fail to treat Elizabeth Proctor with respect. In Act Two, when Cheever comes to the Proctors' home with a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest, he is bound to remove her and take her to jail. When he leads her out of the house and into the cart, he moves to chain her. John hurries out, shouting, "Damn you, man, you will not chain her! Off...

I'm not sure that Cheever degrades John Proctor, but he does fail to treat Elizabeth Proctor with respect. In Act Two, when Cheever comes to the Proctors' home with a warrant for Elizabeth's arrest, he is bound to remove her and take her to jail. When he leads her out of the house and into the cart, he moves to chain her. John hurries out, shouting, "Damn you, man, you will not chain her! Off with them! I'll not have it! I will not have her chained!" Despite his history with and knowledge of the Proctors, Cheever degrades Elizabeth by placing her in chains, as though she were already considered to be a criminal (which she really is). It is his job, but just because we are ordered to do something doesn't mean it is right that we should do it.

Reverend Parris certainly degrades John Proctor, and he does so in an attempt to maintain some authority within the proceedings. In Act Three, when Proctor, Giles Corey, and Francis Nurse come to speak with Judge Danforth about their wives, Parris cries, "This is a clear attack upon the court!" He is afraid that his knowledge of the girls dancing in the woods will come out, and Proctor has brought his servant, Mary Warren, who is one of those girls. He likely assumes that Proctor knows what Parris knows and so attempts to discredit him before he can reveal that information. Further, Parris tells Danforth,

All innocent and Christian people are happy for the courts in Salem! These people are gloomy for it. And I think you will want to know, from each and every one of them, what discontents them with you!  

In so saying, Parris attempts to blacken Proctor's name by insisting that he would be happy for the courts in Salem if he had nothing to hide. Certainly, this shows a lack of respect for Proctor's very real concerns for himself, and for his wife.