If there is one thing I could change about myself, it would be not to judge or categorize someone without getting to know them. I don’t mean I necessarily think stereotypical things, but I do sometimes gain preconceived notions.
Do I believe that everyone is like me? Well, I’m not sure, but I really do think its hard to perceive anyone without coming to some conclusion about them. It may be someone lives in a certain area.
When I visit my grandmother in Illinois, I always have perceptions and judge the people who live there, before meeting them. I tend to think that they are “hicks”, but when I meet them and talk to them I find out they are not hicks at all.
Is there such a thing as “fair” judgments? I believe so, because I think that’s what I do (maybe I’m just saying that to make myself feel better). If we realize we are judging in the first place I think we can make our perceptions more fair and less stereotypical.
Have a good week,
ImaginePeace
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI also have found that it is really hard not to judge people. We tend to look at celebrities as the status quo for what we should have or need to have in order to be happy. Then I think we place these same values or materialism on other people that we meet. It is very sad but I notice I look at what other people drive, wear, and who they hang out with in order to make a decision if they are someone I would want to hang out with or not. I also tried for some time not to use judgement and hang out with someone who I would typically not hang out with. This did not work because the persons values and beliefs were very different from my own. Judging someone fairly is very hard.
Capone's Mom
Hello ImaginePeace! Do you think it's possible to set aside judgments when getting to know someone? Or, do you think that we will always be bound by first impressions or judgments?
ReplyDeleteWhen you visited Illinois, do you still make the same judgments? Or do you look past them to get to know the people now based on your past experiences with them? :)
Even though I now know that people in Illinois are not hicks, for some reason I still get the first impression that they are. I am having a really hard time shaking that. I know its a horrible thing to judge them because my family is all from Illinois, and none of them are hicks, I do not really know why I think this; it may be because most of the hicks I have met in my life have come from Illinois.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that everyone does have similar if not the same thought mentality when it comes to seeing someone and making a sudden judgement. People all the time judge me and tell me weeks later what they thought about me when they first seen me. Sometimes people will offend me with the negative thoughts they have had when they first meet me but what can i do but change their assumption and not think to much about it. I played college baseball for three years and when i step onto the field sometimes people think "this guy probably sucks or he dose not look like a good enough player to be on this field but I made the team". When it comes to judging people it does involve nonverbal and sometimes verbal messages but judgment is often stereotyping and it comes from the media. Being a student I realize how much of a influence the media has on society because it hits topics and scenarios that we take in like their going to be useful to us in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the same motto. I make it a point to not categorize and judge people before I have gotten the chance to get to know them. I have been in situations where who I was with affected how they perceived me and the people I was with. We live in a time where there are so many different people in the world that no one can afford to be judgmental because we might miss out on something really good. But in reality we all make them, it is our job to not take them too seriously because I think people really have a lot more to offer than judgments.
ReplyDeleteGood Post!