In fourth grade, I was handed an "optical illusion" from my
teacher, followed by instructions to focus on the picture and discuss what we
saw. Concentrating on what laid in my
hand, I finally decided that the picture was a portrait of a young woman with a
bouquet of flowers grasped in her hands. When bringing my perception to the
class though, I was stunned at others' interpretations of the piece; majority
of the class saw a man holding an umbrella! One picture, two different
interpretations. The same thought applies to people; one person, two sides.
I learned from Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School
Shootings, that first, second, and third introductions can be deceiving of who
a person really is. There is no reason to be prejudiced, to
"pre-judge" someone. You don't
know their story, their hurt, their pain. As a society, we tend to look at people
based on first appearances; we look for the "proper" jeans, the"
pretty" hair, the "skinny" girls, for "perfect," when
in reality we should be looking for beauty. I am not talking about top brand
make-up, or designer clothes, rather, the beauty of their soul-- the good in
them. You may think one thing looking at
these “optical illusions,” but you need to find the other side, the beauty.
One of the most recent, most common, and most hurtful ways to be prejudiced
towards others: stereotyping. Society is
constantly being reminded by popular TV shows, magazines, advertisements that
blondes
must be dumb, people with
glasses
must be nerds, and those who
wear a suit to work every day
must be
rich. Take a look at Disney’s
High School
Musical for example. You have the tall, muscular jocks with a basketball in
arm, teasing the short, nerdy geeks with their noses stuck in a book. Then you
observe the queen bee, most likely a rich, popular, and spoiled blonde with her
“servant” by her side, who is in charge of it all. Not only is stereotyping frequently
portrayed in films though, we make references to these stereotypes daily,
possibly without even knowing it. If a brunette were to miss an easy question
in math, we often hear, “you’re a blonde at heart.” If a shorter boy were to be
on the basketball team, we would most likely laugh, saying, “you need to
grow—like three feet!”Stereotyping is really just a missed opportunity in this
world, a possible friend you will never have.
Although there are many ways to be prejudice towards others, the thing that
makes the most difference, is your reaction to people. Optical illusions tug on your brain, making
you question if anything was really there. The same goes for the weighing of
your reactions; you question yourself.
A common way to play it safe and
“stick to the status-quo,” is to just ignore people, ignore their beauty, and
ignore the opportunity that is knocking at your door. A person might first
“pre-judge” someone, and say, (as an example,) “Oh, that girl is wearing lots
of eyeliner… she must be Goth.” From here, society has mainly three choices:
accepting the fact that the girl
could
be Goth, and therefore choosing to stay away, to simply acknowledge that a
person is there, with no kindness of fear that they might be “weird,” or, to
realize that if this person
is Goth,
they might need help, or they might just need a friend in this world. Someone who would play it safe and play it
cool would be the one staying away, far away, from the person who may need the
most help. This is just another example of being prejudice.
If a person is not ignoring this opportunity, they might only be fulfilling
it half-way. Like I mentioned before, another popular way to react to society
is simply acknowledging the victim, with lack of care, out of fear that
they might soon be the victim. In
general, these people tend to feel unsecure and unsure of themselves, as they
are unsecure and indecisive about making new friends. These typically are the
people that need friends themselves, though they might not realize it, and not
take full advantage of a great opportunity.
The most compassionate way to be accepting to people, is just that: accepting
people. As in life though, the right
thing tends to be the hardest. By first
appearances, yeah, who’s going to want to hang out with the new kid labeled
“weird?” But, if you think about it, who are “they” to label a person like
that? Who are you to believe what “they” are saying without even giving others’
a chance? By stepping out of the boundaries others set for you, you are able to
help others find a light in their lives and you will find a friend as well.
How many times have you heard the crowd gossiping about the latest “laugh
stock?” I have personally heard it more than twice, and always had thought,
“Oh… someone else will find them… someone
else can do it.” Wait—hold up. Who
again is “someone?”The answer: you. You, reading this, are the first step to
creating a “chain reaction of compassion” (quoted by Rachel Joy Scott.) You,
reading this, are the first step to crossing the boundary. You, reading this,
are the first step to helping others cross the boundary. You, reading this, are
the newly found light in someone’s life. You, reading this, are the first step
to seeing both sides of these illusions. You are the person to see the both woman
with flowers
and the man with the
umbrella.
