People

            The world is filled with all kinds of people.  Some have different religions, skin colors, or different physical looks.  Most people in the world tend to place everyone of the same color, nationality, or looks in a general group.  When we do this, we normally have a view of them, whether it is accurate or not.  Sometimes we can be extremely mean to someone, just because they are different.  The best advice I have ever been given is to give people the benefit of the doubt.  To often we don't.

            The book Black like Me is a story about a man who is white, who dyes his skin black.  The book is placed in the 1960's.  This was the height of the Civil Rights Movement for blacks.  For centuries, blacks had been treated as second-class citizens.  They had been free since the Civil War ended, but they were not allowed to vote, they were forced to accept segregation.  They lived in poverty, with little chances for advancement.  They endured all of this because of the color of his skin. 

            Just as the white people judged the blacks solely based on skin color, the people of today still label people.  We label them based on religion, race, and their looks.  I don't believe that all judging is wrong.  But when we label an individual based on these things, it is wrong.  But if I know a black person, and do not like them, that is not wrong.  It is wrong to place a stereotype on people. 

            I know I sometimes make generalizations about people.  There are a lot of people of Latin America ancestry that go to the local high school.  I often make comments about them, such as, “Why do they come to America if they won't leave English?”  I hardly ever hear them speak English, which is the official language of the US.  I don't really like the people I term as “Mexicans.”  I don't personally know any of them, so I guess I am in the wrong.  I need to give them the benefit of the doubt.

            After the Civil War, blacks were termed as dumb.  The whites thought that blacks were inferior to the whites.  So they placed a stereotype on all blacks.  It didn't matter how smart a black was, he was never given a chance.  The whites did not take the time to get to know any blacks, because of the stereotype. 

            In modern America, if a person is Muslim, we tend to think of them as a terrorist.  We don't know that, but that is what we associate them with.  We hear a lot on the news of how Muslims from the Middle East are terrorists.  There are many good Muslims.  We just need to take the time to get to know them.

            I do not believe that we label people based on the race or religion.  I believe we label them with their looks.  I know I label people all the time at school.  There are a lot of boys who often have hair longer than girls.  They wear black all the time, and they just look empty.  I label these kids as druggies.   This may or may not be true.  I don't know that for a fact.  But they drink energy drinks, listen to loud music, and look like kids I don't want to be around.  So I believe this kind of labeling to be OK.  I should not say these kids are bad, because I don't know that.  I should just judge whether I want to be around them or not.

            I label the girls who wear tight or revealing clothing as sluts.  I don't want to hang around them.  They show to much of their bodies.  They hang around bad kids, and I don't want to hang around them.  I label all of the big, strong kids as jocks.  They are the ones who play football or basketball.  They normally are very stuck up, and think they are better than other people.  But I have gotten to know many of these kids.  They are often really good kids.  I just make the mistake of labeling them before I get to know them. 

            So a lot of the labeling I do at school is about the kinds of people somebody is.  But I could be totally wrong.  A kid who dresses a certain way is not always good or bad.  Some of the girls who dress slothfully are really nice.  They are fun people to be around.  The jocks are normally very  nice people.  They just are good at sports, which causes a lot of people to look up to them.

            Often times people have bad posture.  I know I sometimes slouch when I am sitting.  The ones who are always sloched tend to be the kids who don't have friends.  I guess people think they are dumb or something.  I know a kid who slouches all the time when standing, but he is an awesome kid.  I try very hard not to label such kids, because my posture is not the best

            I have noticed that if I really try to get to know someone, my usual impressions of them changes.  Society as a whole is used to judging people by their first apparent.  It drives me crazy when watching a movie with friends, and an attractive woman is on the screen, and all my friends are “I want to marry her.”  I hate this because there are few women who are actually virtuous people.  I realize I am judging by doing this, but if a woman is on a movie nowadays, she is probably not virtuous.  It drives me crazy, but I do it too.  I believe it is human nature to judge people.  I don't think judging people is wrong.  We should just strive to get to know that person.