Being a part of the diverse UPR community, you’re likely to have seen some really, ahem, interesting people walking around campus. It’s easy to be dismissive of someone because of what he or she looks like or because what they’re wearing isn’t to your taste. Sometimes it can feel like we’re all wearing signs on our backs that say, “judge me because of what I look like.” We’ve all done it and we’ve all been recipients of it. There’s no excuse for this closed-minded behavior; it’s just plain rude. Since when is being judgmental okay?
Not long ago I had an altercation with a stranger. And by ‘stranger’, I literally mean stranger, because I had never seen her before in my life. This girl, obviously still in her early teens, sees me and says out of the blue: “Hey! Halloween is over!” I’m not sure if she was trying to impress her boyfriend (who was sitting right next to her) or just being nasty for fun; but either way it ticked me off. I mean, who wouldn’t get ticked off? It’s like lighting a candle. I quickly responded, not wanting to seem weak: “Hey honey, bimbo season’s over, Miss Universe already has a winner. By the way, buy new pants; I don’t think those fit anymore.” It made me really sad to think that we’ve come to the point that we were disrespecting each other just because of they way we looked. It makes me reminisce about a scene in the movie “13 Going on 30,” when they’re arguing about who’s the pot and who’s the kettle…because in the end, it didn’t matter. We were both black.
Just because someone dresses in a way that you don’t like, it doesn’t mean you have to take it upon yourself to say something. Or if you don’t like someone’s musical taste, that’s not your concern because it doesn’t have anything to do with you. Sometimes it feels like people automatically want to place you in a box and expect you to comply with what they’re expecting of you as a result of that. It’s like when you tell somebody that you’re Puerto Rican and they automatically respond, “But you don’t look Puerto Rican.” Or someone gives you a dismissive look just because of what you’re wearing. It’s not right to judge a book by its cover. It never was, and it never will be.
It’s baffling to me that we have to even have this conversation about respecting other people’s choices. It makes me feel blatant. We’re not kids, we are supposed to know this by now. It makes me feel like I’m stating the obvious, but apparently I’m not. People will judge you, and sometimes it’s easy to judge them right back in order to lessen the sting. So let’s all be nice for once and not humiliate others or put them down for what they do or don’t do. It’s not like the world needs more unpleasant people. As college students at one of the most varied schools on the Island, we should set an example and be more tolerant of others. Haven’t you heard the phrase: “Do unto others what you would have done unto you?” After all, “tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.” So stop being a mean girl, seriously.
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