Bias
Don't like that word much? Okay does it sound better if we call it indifference?
I have seen "indifference" first hand and it's rude and insulting. I have seen it against the young and old as well as larger people. Years ago we went car shopping with one of the boys. It was going to be his car and his purchase - we were just along for the ride. Problem? The salesman approached us first and even after our son joined in the conversation, the salesman still preferred looking at Jeff and I. Reason? Because he was young and I'm sure the salesman assumed, incorrectly, that our son wasn't a buyer so why waste his time. Bias? I think so.
When another son bought his first house he was quite young, fresh from college. But he had money. At the model the salesman had a hard time speaking directly to him even after several attempts to convince him that we were just support. Like the car salesman he assumed that our son was just a lookey-lou and not worth his time. He was proved wrong and Jeff and I stopped going into the sales office.
Let's not forget the airplane. I know that people coming down the aisle are silently praying that they do not have to sit next to a larger person for fear of spillover. Been there and done that. Before Jeff lost his weight, he was one of those people that nobody wanted to sit next to. I could see the looks of disdain as people walked down the aisle. What some, or perhaps all, of these people don't understand is that for some people it's shoulder width that may get in your way. Since Jeff's surgery he hasn't gotten a smidge smaller in the shoulders. Sometimes big is just bone structure and you can't do anything about that. So before you judge, remember it may not be his/her girth that will be the problem.
If you can't judge a book by it's cover then you sure as heck can't judge a person by their looks and clothes either. The scruffiest man in the store may be wealthy and he just doesn't care about his appearance. Likewise, the well dressed fellow may be just putting on an act and doesn't have a penny to his name.
I believe that we should treat all people with respect regardless of their position in life. Our oldest son was a tow truck driver for a number of years and was genuinely looked down on by customers. I know that a tow truck driver is not a rocket scientist but he looks like a hero when you're broken down by the side of the road! The negative comments and looks he received were a problem for me. After all he wasn't selling drugs or doing anything illegal. He was simply trying to earn an honest living. What more could you ask of someone?
We should try and look at the people around us with fresh eyes. We're all in this together and none of us are getting out alive. Stop the "indifference" toward others who are not like you. The world would be a boring place if we were all identical drones. We may all still be drones but at least each one of us is unique!
P
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