I’ve
been thinking a lot about our last discussion in class. More precisely, about Socrates
having the appearance of a homeless man, but the wisdom of a scholar. The main
question that I’ve been pondering is if I were to see him would I avoid him, judging
him solely off his looks or would I look deeper in to him as a person and actually
listen to what he has to say? I would hope that I would have the decency to
listen, but would I? I have been taught from childhood not to talk to
strangers. To always keep in mind that people could be bad. Along with that people
tend to shy away from people who look a homeless, always judging them more harshly.
So if it came to it would I really
disregard everything that has been programed into me? To avoid the people who seem
rough and dirty? Is it really more acceptable to accept and trust the words of
a person in a nice clean suit than someone in an old t-shirt and jeans? When I think
of it now the answer is easy to see for me. It shouldn’t matter. The material
objects someone has doesn’t dictate their worth. I would much rather listen to
what each has to say and judge solely off what I hear or off their actions: not
what I see.
They say "don't judge a book by its cover". But that is exactly what were trained to do in our culture. We live in a society where it is ingrained in our minds to be "classist" and avoid people who we believe to be unimportant, or dirty. So truthfully if i saw Socrates standing on the street corner trying to talk to people, there is no doubt in my mind i would turn the other way.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can say with confidence I would not pay Socrates any mind if I didn't hear some of his ideas first. It's a unfortunate fact of society. Then again, is the answer to changing this fact going around and accepting everything homeless people say as absolute truth? I believe this to be ill advised. Perhaps a safer and more realistic approach would be to give everyone an equal chance upon first meeting them. Listen to their words before passing judgement.
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