People judge others because they are afraid of looking at themselves to see how imperfect they are themselves.
Something I heard a while back- "Who are they to judge me? I know I am not perfect and I don't claim to be. But before you start pointing fringers, make sure your own hands are clean." Something a pen-pal friend said a week before he was executed by the state- "All of those worthless bastards who judge me now, haven't the slightest idea of what the fuck it took to make me who I am.....yet they believe they have the right to judge me....?" IMO until you've been there, you really can't judge them. You can judge their actions, but not them.
to form an estimate or evaluation of; especially : to form a negative opinion about <shouldn't judge him because of his accent> When you meet a person, to know them at all you must form a quick estimation or evaluation of them at least for your memory. That is technically judging a person, so that's all I really meant. I think you are focusing on the latter part, "especially: to form a negative opinion about". I would never condone making absolute or final judgements on people, but we all judge people to some degree. And I agree, unless you've actually experienced something yourself, empathy can only work so well.
I don't think 'judgeing' is what you really mean...or anyone else as far as that goes.... And this incomplete idea has always kind of been a pet peeve of mine.... Of course people judge...evaluate...not just others, but our enviornment as well...it's what keeps us safe... I think what people really mean to say is.. 'Don't condemn me, based on your bias' Or rather think in terms of a 'verdict' handed out by a court... But before a verdict or conclusion to a case is declared...hopefully a fair hearing took place... well it's the same thing in our minds when we rate, then judge, then decide verdict on people we encounter... Often all this is done based on a personal bias, rather than truly examining the said person. (and this can work both ways, positive and negitave) (con men/women, thos who manipulate, know the art of influencing 'the verdict' in their favor) And often the said person is never given a fair hearing in our minds, cause they don't meet the basic physical qualifications of our 'taste'... This could be based on personal style and taste, attire, color, heritage, sub-culture (punk, surfer type, hip-hop, emo, gay, nerdy, ect ect)... So to shorten this up...I don't think people mind so much being 'judged' or 'rated'... (For that's how Pageant contestants are decided upon...) What people do mind, is being judged, and then rated in a bad way, without a fair hearing. In other words, just because someone has holes in their jeans, doesn't mean their 'rotton'....for until you find out why those holes are in the jeans...it's best to not let the holes in the jeans be a factor in rating that person... Try to look at it as a mathmatical equation... ax2=4 You have to solve the equation before you can judge it to be true or not... But with each other, we often don't solve for 'x'...we just decide we don't like the paper it's written on and walk away...
Nice analysis, ghostchild. That breaks it all down pretty good. My only two cents to add is that everyone is a bigot in some way or other.. even the people who claim to be tolerant and open minded and non-judgemental in every way etc. etc. I know that sound cynical, but we are all influenced by negative stereotypes, and cultural mindsets that pervade society.
