What it Means to Judge People
May 16, 2020
When you think of people who don't want to vaccinate their children, do you consider them stupid for not trusting science, or do you empathize with their fear that vaccination may give their child autism? Many people still believe going out in the cold causes people to catch a cold, is that any different? The truth is, we don't know where people are coming from with the choices they make and the beliefs they have, and that's a great reason to hold off on judging them. We don't even have a full view of the people we spend the most time with, because the only way we could, is to BE them. If we're not somebody else, then there's little point in judging them, and instead, we could spend more time trying to understand.
On the internet, it's easy to judge and attack others from the safety of being anonymous. It's the same reason a drone pilot can bomb an entire village, and sleep well at night; they don't have to look anyone in the eyes when they do it.
We could spend our time arguing and belittling Trump supporters, or cancelling another famous person online for not being perfect, or we could make a bigger effort to build bridges and foster understanding, realizing that nothing good is going to come from all this toxic energy being put out there. Fostering understanding puts us in a better place to communicate with others who see the world differently (Remember, they see the world differently because they've lived different experiences. Your worldview isn't the only view people get to live). I get it, most of the people doing the judging were/are judged harshly themselves, so it feels normal, or like they have a right to do the same, but that doesn't make it any less poisonous. It's easier to judge someone, and takes more effort and time to understand them, but that doesn't make it any less worth it. This can be transferred over to ourselves as well. Instead of beating up on ourselves when we make mistakes, let's make space to learn from them, understand how they happened, and improve accordingly.
On the internet, it's easy to judge and attack others from the safety of being anonymous. It's the same reason a drone pilot can bomb an entire village, and sleep well at night; they don't have to look anyone in the eyes when they do it.
We could spend our time arguing and belittling Trump supporters, or cancelling another famous person online for not being perfect, or we could make a bigger effort to build bridges and foster understanding, realizing that nothing good is going to come from all this toxic energy being put out there. Fostering understanding puts us in a better place to communicate with others who see the world differently (Remember, they see the world differently because they've lived different experiences. Your worldview isn't the only view people get to live). I get it, most of the people doing the judging were/are judged harshly themselves, so it feels normal, or like they have a right to do the same, but that doesn't make it any less poisonous. It's easier to judge someone, and takes more effort and time to understand them, but that doesn't make it any less worth it. This can be transferred over to ourselves as well. Instead of beating up on ourselves when we make mistakes, let's make space to learn from them, understand how they happened, and improve accordingly.