Don't Judge

How often do you feel invisible, manipulated, or without a voice? There are so many times I witness people being bullied or told what to do; whether it's when watching the TV news, reading an online article, or standing in line at the grocery store. Some people like to feel superior, but to do so they need to make someone else feel inferior first. They feel they need to shout and talk loudly at people in order to be heard, even when they are standing right next to them. They're trying to manipulate the situation. When climbing up on to their pedestal to be seen, they need to push others out of the way or down in order to get where they feel they should be.

For all of the cruelty I see in the world; the hatred, the jealousies, and the ignorance ... I also see hope. I see people holding doors open for strangers, I see people giving hugs to show their support, and I see people stopping to listen and pay attention to people. I prefer to hang on to the hope. It helps me to maintain my faith in a world that is currently full of power trips and insecurities.

Let's take a minute and focus on the ignorance. Being ignorant doesn't necessarily make a person dumb, but it does mean they are uninformed. They don't have all the answers; they haven't stopped to look at the whole picture, yet they've managed to find a way to unfairly place blame or judgment on someone or a situation. 

How many times have you been criticized for something you weren't even part of? How many times have you worked hard at something only for someone to generalize what you do as if even a monkey to do it. They make unfair assumptions without ever knowing you or even what you do. We need to remember to NOT judge what's on the surface, especially when we don't have a clue what's beneath it or behind it. Knowledge is a great thing. It enables us to be more understanding, more empathetic, and more aware. Sure, it may take us a little bit more time to become informed, but I'd consider that time well spent if it helped me to not be ignorant or make false judgments.

As usual, it's just my two cents worth of wisdom, but wisdom comes from experience and learning life lessons the hard way.

Thoughts?

Why Do People Hide Their Identities?

In the midst of all the positiveness of the Christmas season it saddens me to first hear of a story of someone's untimely passing and second to read some people's reactions. I came across an Internet article today that shared the sad news of a young military man who died from a parachuting accident while on vacation with his wife in Australia. I have the utmost respect for veterans and the sacrifices they make for the sake of others. This young veteran had served on tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He deserved a vacation full of adventures and quality time with his wife. The part of the article that seemed to be a bigger deal than it should have been was the fact that the wife had won the vacation from the Ellen show. The fact that she'd won the vacation didn't change the fact that she'd just become a widow, nor did it cause the unfortunate accident.

Many of the readers showed sympathy and empathy for the new widow, while some of the readers (complete strangers) used the opportunity to make completely ignorant comments. Comments like, 'Will the widow sue the Ellen show? Because that's what everyone does these days.' and 'Well, that's what happens when you have a gay person with a TV show.' Seriously? That's the first thing that comes to their mind when someone they never even met dies? I didn't read through the balance of the comments because to be honest - they made me sick!

I made an observation though regarding the 10-12 comments I did read. The comments that seemed sincere with sympathy had actual photo IDs with what looked like legit names. The ignorant comments ALL came from people with cartoon IDs and made-up fictitious character names. So why do some people feel they can hide behind their cartoon IDs, their made-up names, and the freedom of speech amendment? Why do some people try to get their 5 minutes of fame by showing their ignorance?

When I blog I prefer to share uplifting and inspiring thoughts, but sometimes I suppose we need to point out the obvious in the hopes that it'll make us all a little more aware of the things we say and the things we do. Everyone's actions, including our own, have consequences. We can't always change other people's behavior, but we can choose to be responsible for ourselves. I realize I am human (as we all are) and by no means perfect, but if I ever do that PLEASE let me know so I can smack myself upside my head.

In the true spirit of Christmas, may we be more thoughtful of others, be plentiful with our good intentions, and more importantly with our follow-through.