Thou Shalt be Judged: Response

I enjoyed reading “Thou Shalt be Judged,” by Mark Probest who was writing for the Washington State University newspaper. He discussed how belonging to a subculture causes people’s first impression to be colored with the stereotypes that are associated with that subculture. Although the stereotypes may be factually true ( such as “the excessive amount of ecstasy that is being sold, bought, and used at raves”) it does not necessarily mean that all those who participate in the subculture participate in the all the peripheral activities associated with it, such as drug use. He muses about how much a subculture influences people’s first impressions, and how, often times, these impressions are only a partially correct or even incorrect judgment on the person. I think he provides a holistic point of view, and I appreciate that he doesn’t discredit the concept of stereotypes but rather presents an idea to think about while forming mental impressions of the person. I do think however that stereotypes offer some value in society, as they act as a way to filter interactions or people, and to find people you may have more in common with. I think though, that like most things, one should be open to rethinking or adjusting the first impressions. This article connected with me, as I think I tend to make very quick first judgments about people. I completely discredited one of my best friends when she first started hanging out with my twin, simply because she is blond and was a cheerleader at our highschool, and I associated that with the movie image of the vapid, narcissistic cheerleader portrayed in movies. I think that had I been able to see her as a whole person and not just an image earlier on, we would have become friends sooner.