I was digging through some old writings and I came across this one. I am not certain if I ever posted it here, and I don't recall the reason why I wrote it in the first place. As always, I don't expect everyone to agree with me but I think it makes for an interesting perspective on something that we all insist we dislike in others: being judgmental.
The thing is...
Being non-judgemental is overrated. It's also potentially harmful. The problem is not in being judgmental but in being an asshole because of it.
Imagine this general, unfortunately common scenario:
A person of a particular race or ethnicity is walking up the street toward you. You think:
"Oh no! This person is a stereotype, this person has a bomb, this person is going to explode me, oh no!" (lights own hair on fire.)
You have judged the situation - rightly or wrongly - as well as the person, and the perceived danger to yourself.
But does it matter?
Because now you must make an affirmative decision to continue on your current path, take another path, or stop and do nothing. It is this decision and action that makes you an asshole, or not.
I'm a fan of analogies so forget the heavy bigotry stuff and enjoy this instead:
You are standing on a street corner. You look both ways and think:
"Oh no! This street has traffic, this traffic has lots of cars, the cars are going to run me over, oh no!" (lights own hair on fire.)
You have judged the traffic - rightly or wrongly - to be such that trying to cross the street would be hazardous.
But does it matter?
So far all you have done is make a judgement, but still you must make an affirmative decision about what to do. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Do I walk across the street?
Do I run?
Do I try to avoid the traffic myself?
Do I assume the traffic will avoid me?
Do I try some combination of these?
Do I just stand here and not cross the street at all?
Once again it is your decision that informs your action which in this case may or may not get you dead.
So what do you decide to do?: walk, run, spin, whirl, dance, sing, finger, moan, cum, have a headache, whatever. You might stick your thumb up your ass and just stand there. You might step off the curb and go for it. You might just make it across safely. You might get run over. You might die from your injuries. You might not.
You make a judgement. Next you make a decision based on it. Then you take action based on that, even if that action is to do nothing.
So judge away! It just may save your life someday. But keep in mind - your judgement may be sound but if your decision is stupid and your actions are stupid and you get run over by a stupid car which culminates in your stupid death, it doesn't mean all cars are bad.
Thinking and acting like it does makes you an asshole.
