The Student Room Group

Why is it wrong to judge people you don't know?

And who defines this "absolute wrong"?

Kind of pisses me off, since I don't think we're owed anything in life..

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Because, by definition, you'd be judging them on their gender, race, religion, appearance etc. or a combination of the above as you can't judge them on their personality if you don't know them
Reply 2
Original post by iheartdjokovic
Because, by definition, you'd be judging them on their gender, race, religion, appearance etc. or a combination of the above as you can't judge them on their personality if you don't know them


And? I don't get why this is "bad". if it's a stranger, I just move on.
Does anyone actually define this as an "absolute wrong"? We all probably do it to a greater or lesser extent.

The problem with judging people we don't know is that that judgement is usually based on a set of assumptions which probably don't survive close scrutiny. Why? Because people are more complicated than they often seem. So it's not that judging strangers is wrong so much as it is completely ineffective.

My other thought is that getting all riled up about what other people get up to tends to be preserve of the chronically embittered and repressed. If I'm happy, why should I care what you're doing?
Reply 4
Original post by Lotus_Eater
Does anyone actually define this as an "absolute wrong"? We all probably do it to a greater or lesser extent.

The problem with judging people we don't know is that that judgement is usually based on a set of assumptions which probably don't survive close scrutiny. Why? Because people are more complicated than they often seem. So it's not that judging strangers is wrong so much as it is completely ineffective.

My other thought is that getting all riled up about what other people get up to tends to be preserve of the chronically embittered and repressed. If I'm happy, why should I care what you're doing?


Your spiritualist/subjective values aside, it's a free world, why does it matter how people think? Thought cannot be controlled anyhow.
Original post by iheartdjokovic
Because, by definition, you'd be judging them on their gender, race, religion, appearance etc. or a combination of the above as you can't judge them on their personality if you don't know them


Federer is better :tongue: sorry, saw your username and had to say it
Original post by carlisomes
And? I don't get why this is "bad". if it's a stranger, I just move on.


Would you want someone making an assumption about you based on your ethnicity, size, gender..? Obviously it's impossible to prevent this completely but don't you see that it's best to try not to
Original post by carlisomes
Your spiritualist/subjective values aside, it's a free world, why does it matter how people think? Thought cannot be controlled anyhow.


Why should I ignore my values when answering moral questions?!

Also I'm not advocating controlling other people's thought. Just observing that judgemental people are only judgemental because they're unhappy. And since (as I also suggested) sweeping statements about people are likely to be crude and unhelpful, it would be a better use of energy to try and cultivate a 'live and let live' attitude.

This is hardly a niche view. Not judging people should (theoretically) be the bedrock of Christian morality and seems to be the hallmark of revered figures across history and cultures. I'd rather try and emulate compassionate and wise individuals than the kind of snide one-liners you get underneath stories about the Kardashians in the Daily Mail.
Original post by ThatMadClown
Federer is better :tongue: sorry, saw your username and had to say it


Nooo, Djokovic is amazing!

:excited:
Original post by iheartdjokovic
Nooo, Djokovic is amazing!

:excited:


his victory against nadal was cool, but he won't win french xP
Because I don't like to be written off as a certain thing because a stranger has seen one tiny aspect of my personality, so I try not to do it to others (with mixed success I admit). You don't know them, so you can't act superior towards them because you know sweet f.a about them.
Some people just give off bad vibes , i can tell within seconds if I like someone and it we're gonna get on, my judge of character is spot on . Although this isn't necessarily the right way to do things
Reply 12
Original post by ssupernova
Some people just give off bad vibes , i can tell within seconds if I like someone and it we're gonna get on, my judge of character is spot on . Although this isn't necessarily the right way to do things


Me too, but then for me it's based on a lot of stuff like clothes, age, religion.
You sound very familiar...
Reply 14
Original post by iheartdjokovic
Would you want someone making an assumption about you based on your ethnicity, size, gender..? Obviously it's impossible to prevent this completely but don't you see that it's best to try not to


I don't care, I accept things as they are.. but then if I don't know somebody I judge them accordingly...

Unless you cite some pressing reason why people must approve of others?
Reply 15
Original post by Dr Pesto
You sound very familiar...


Yes, I can read you too and say you expect me to "like" you when I don't know who you are..
Welp, just don't be annoyed when people judge you as a tool after reading your original post.
Original post by carlisomes
Yes, I can read you too and say you expect me to "like" you when I don't know who you are..

Why would I expect that?
Reply 18
Original post by Dr Pesto
Why would I expect that?


Because it's the norm of society... And I know how you respond to things, I know how you tick.
Original post by carlisomes
Because it's the norm of society... And I know how you respond to things, I know how you tick.

But as you said, you don't know who I am. And in my original comment, I meant that I recognised you from similar posts you've made on this website in the past, not that I knew what kind of person you are.

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