Saturday, March 25, 2006
Judging a Book by Its Cover
(Warning: This is just my opinion regarding a topic that is important to me so I apologize in advance for the little soap box rant. Please feel free to share your own opinions and thoughts.)
Whether you are male or female, wealthy or just making ends meet, black or white, overweight or underweight, short or tall...someone in a crowd, at a party, in your office has probably already developed an opinion about you without really getting to know you. If you have NEVER had that misfortune then you are lucky!
I think some of the most powerful words that I have ever heard were spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King; "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Sadly, we are no where near that day and sadly people’s prejudices, perceptions and even sometimes ignorance stand in the way of us being a kinder, gentler world -- one where a man or woman is truly seen and embraced for their character (the person they are) and not because of the $250 pair of shoes that they wear or don’t wear.
I am a firm believer that people are not born with a prejudicial eye. This is something that is taught (even inadvertently) or gained through the influence of others. If everyone, everywhere made a deliberate effort not to pre-judge a person based on appearance, but rather took the time to get to know someone…what a more loving, productive, and open-minded world this would be.
What do you think?
Posted by Pam at 2:50:24 PM in Pam's Ponderings (32) | Permalink | Comments (5)
Comments
Other than giving you a thumbs up at Blog Mad, can't give you an award. Why is that so hard for people to comprehend?Posted by ma on 26/03/2006
I think it's impossible not to judge based partially on appearance. I also think that this judgement can be unlearned to an extent. I do not think that prejudice is a bad word by definition, it simply has a bad connotation because of it's ties with racism. Racism is clearly horrible. Judging people based on race is ridiculous. I've never understood this and it continues to perplex me and disturb me on deeper levels and for other reasons as I become a more educated person.I don't think it's entirely bad to judge someone on their appearance to an EXTENT. The extent of this, of course, meaning contolled variables. Often a persons inward feelings towards themselves are reflected outwardly in their physical appearance. Eastern medicine has used this philosophy for years. Even mean spiritedness causes frown lines that make eventually make the face take on a harsh appearance.
This doesn't mean that material possessions like shoes should make a person seem better... and poor clothes should make a person seem worse.
But some things...
Posted by anna on 26/03/2006
'Never judge a book by its cover' and 'all that glitters is not gold' were sayings/cliches I grew up with and I believe in them firmly. But today's youth tell me that's not the way it is, that packaging and gift wrapping are as important as the gift! That is apparently the American way of life, of work culture, the only way to be successful. But I still don't buy into that!Posted by S on 26/03/2006
Thank you all so much for sharing your insights with me! I really appreciate hearing other people's thoughts and points of view. And Ma, thank you for the thumbs up. :)Be well...
Pam
Posted by Pam on 26/03/2006
From a psychological perspective there's evidence that we ARE born to first notice differences between ourselves and others (not the similarities), the foundation of prejudice - it's a survival mechanism that appears to be inbuilt. However, our experiences then teach us either to broaden and deepen that predisposition so it grows into bigotry, racism etc. OR we learn that there are contexts in which it is safe and beneficial to set that mechanism aside and develop the habit of concentrating on what we have in common instead; this is the seed of tolerance, inclusion and true appreciation of diversity.Steve
Posted by Steve Wooding on 02/05/2006
