What makes us what we are and who are we? Martin Luther King, Jr. had it right when he said the color of our skin is not us but the "the content of our character" is. King stopped short. He should have mentioned the size and shape of our bodies, our hair(type, color and style) and our looks in general. Discrimination has many victims.
We didn't start it but we have perpetuated it. Even the most primitive cultures painted and adorned themselves to enhance their "likability" or to indicate their place in society. The incidental and accidental appearance of a person does not reveal much about who he really is. Unfortunately, we have made it an important factor in judging others. We rarely postpone judgement until we find out who is really in that body.
Even the experts tell us that :first impressions" count. They are not talking about anything except how you look. They offer advice on how to dress and little else. If you are an employer and the appearance of a person is important enough for you to employ or not, you have missed who the person really is. The decision is being made without "seeing" the real person. The decision is being made without all the facts which leads to bad judgement. The same is true in social situations. You may have passed up the person who would have been your best friend.
We are all guilty of this attitude to some extent because our culture promotes it in hundreds of ways. We're bombarded in print and video with adds which promote the notion that we must look a certain way to be acceptable to others. The continual repetition of this concept forms our faulty opinions about those who do not fit the mold.
The body is not the person. The person is concealed by the body.
We didn't start it but we have perpetuated it. Even the most primitive cultures painted and adorned themselves to enhance their "likability" or to indicate their place in society. The incidental and accidental appearance of a person does not reveal much about who he really is. Unfortunately, we have made it an important factor in judging others. We rarely postpone judgement until we find out who is really in that body.
Even the experts tell us that :first impressions" count. They are not talking about anything except how you look. They offer advice on how to dress and little else. If you are an employer and the appearance of a person is important enough for you to employ or not, you have missed who the person really is. The decision is being made without "seeing" the real person. The decision is being made without all the facts which leads to bad judgement. The same is true in social situations. You may have passed up the person who would have been your best friend.
We are all guilty of this attitude to some extent because our culture promotes it in hundreds of ways. We're bombarded in print and video with adds which promote the notion that we must look a certain way to be acceptable to others. The continual repetition of this concept forms our faulty opinions about those who do not fit the mold.
The body is not the person. The person is concealed by the body.
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