Differences and Judgment

Enhancing beauty? Or destroying it?

6:23 am... One of the things I actively do on a daily basis is reserve judgment. I'm an old guy now - at the ripe age of 43, and there is a judgement trap that old guys fall into quite a bit. I attempt to step around it each time I find it laid before me. Generational differences can be small, or quite profound, but either way I was taught that you don't judge people by how different they are from you. You judge people by how they treat you. And you treat people with respect and courtesy, unless their actions give you cause to do otherwise.

There are things that older people do that I dislike, and there are things about the younger generations which also do not agree with or appeal to me. And there are plenty of things about my own generation that I would love to change, too. For example, we are the ones who decided that it was okay for grown men to walk around wearing baseball caps... all the time. My opinion? If you're not playing baseball, and you're over ten years old, then you shouldn't be wearing one. Period. But a great many do, and such is their right. It's also my right to disagree, but not to judge. Sometimes, hell, often it is hard to refrain from that judgment.

With younger folks, the piercing and the tattoos really disappoint me. One or two tattoos, if done by a good artist, I'm okay with. On the other hand, there are tons of women who were super beautiful, until they covered themselves with a bunch of shit... pardon my French! The same goes for men. Men think they are proving themselves tough or cool by getting tattoos, but to me, just like the baseball caps, they're just proving that they're still children, writing on themselves with markers like they did when they were four years old. But, like I said before, those are my opinions, but they're not on my body, so it's not my decisions to make. When I meet someone with tattoos (and don't get me started on piercings, they're just hideous,) I usually emit a mental "Damn, that's a shame" and proceed to treat them just like I would if they didn't have them. Do I judge? I suppose that I do. But, I don't change how I treat someone, unless their actions warrant it.

White, Latino, Black, Asian, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Gen X, Boomer, Millennial, CIS, Trans, Intersex, Gay, Straight, Bi... we can divide ourselves into a billion categories, and sometimes doing so helps others identify with your perspective. But remember this, NEVER FORGET THIS, your perspective is unique and important and it matters. But it's not better. Treat people right, even if you don't like some of the things they do, or say, or believe, because we can all be judged and all of us will be found wanting... 6:50am...