Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Pre-Judging...Don't You Hate When It Happens To You?
So many people are quick to judge other people without really knowing them and I think that is just beyond ignorant. To look at some and based on how their appearance looks and then to add cliché stereotypes? Seriously? Now yes some people do fall into the stereotypes, but certainly not all. I talk about this because it happened to me just the other day. I was on my way to pick a friend up from this rich suburban neighborhood and I got lost so I pulled over on the side of the road in the neighborhood. As I’m waiting for my friend to call me back with directions I roll down my window to smoke a cigarette. I notice this old lady walking by car and she starts staring at me as if I’m casing this area out to rob it lol. You know that big eyed look (O_O) My appearance is what through her off because I was wearing a head wrap (my hair was busted that day) with a hood over it sitting in a piece of crap looking car (97 Grand Prix). So she is staring at me while walking then crosses the street to move away from my car because I’m staring back at this point and then continues to walk and stare at me from the other side of the street! Yes, I didn’t look like I belong in the area I was in, but that gave her no right to go ahead and assume I was up to something because in reality I was just trying to pick up my friend. Little does that lady know I would never do anything to put myself behind bars because my dad would leave my ass there and that would be that for me lol. Pre-Judging is offensive and ignorant…but I guess everyone has to deal with it at some point because it will never go away.
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Unfortuantely its sad to say but it is true. There are very ignorant people out there who think they can say anything about anyone and that there never worng. Yes, people have freedom of speech, but didnt there mother ever teach them, if they dont have anything gfood to say then don't say anything at all! So why do people feel they have a right to pss judgement on people they have never even met?The y have no clue what that person may be going through, what there persoanlitiy is like, how they feel...etc. We cannot judge a book by it's cover.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your sentiment but, to play the devil's advocate, aren't you judging this lady? Maybe judging people is a part of life.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I really liked this post, because it made me think about whether or not it is really fair to make a judgement. Reacting to your surroundings is a necessary part of life, it's how we avoid danger. It's how we avoid bad situations altogether. It's the act of using your own discretion. It make us human.
I'm not gonna give my money to some street gambler, because I've made a judgement about him. Likewise, I'm going to feel some anxiety if I'm in a bad neighborhood and someone is following me. I think I'm justified in making both of those judgements.
If the lady didn't ask you to leave the area or do anything to violate your rights, then what's the harm in her making a judgement about you?
Okay, does anyone else get the feeling that no matter what you look like, if you're under the age of like forty or so you can't even go into a liquor store without being glared at the whole time as though you're going to grab a bottle of Jim Beam and make a break for it? It gets so old feeling like you're being suspected of something when you're just minding your own damn business.
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin to think how minorities feel in these situations because I know it happens so much more frequently... I hate it either way!
People judge others based on their appearance all the time. I’m positive that everyone has done at some point in their lives, I’ll admit that I do it all the time. Society has labeled people who look a certain way to do certain things, which is what we call stereotyping. A lot of times they happen to be true but there are many times when they are not and the people who are not taking part in the assumed behavior should not be penalized as doing so. Im Indian and people automatically think that I eat curry every day and I should smell like onions. I worked with this one lady who asked shy I don’t smell like onions and I told her that not all Indians smell like onions.
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