Stereotypes and Mistaken Identities

Recently my daughter-in-law posted a picture with the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer.
If you go to the link, you'll see that pic along with many others that show the faces of today's engineers.

It's weird how we have preconceived ideas of how certain people should look or how we might look at somebody and make a judgment about what they might do for a living or about their social standing or other aspect of their life.

While walking to my car from the baseball game the other night (I usually park a mile or so away for the walk) I passed nearby the skate park and saw a young woman skateboarding down the street. I smiled to myself because it was the first time I remember seeing a young woman skateboarding as a means of transportation. The next day, I saw another young woman skateboarder.

And those young women could be engineers, doctors, students or anything else.

Our world is so diverse that we really have to stop making judgments based on appearances or expectations. I know that people have voiced their surprise that I am a UFC fan. I guess it's not expected of my "type" of person.

I read Facebook posts from church leaders that disparage Democrats as if none of their church members or friends could possibly be Democrats or as if they think that those friends will believe their gospel of love in spite of their hate.

I know people that do all types of unapproved or unexpected "church" things, have contrary political or social beliefs to the evangelical core and are more loving examples of Jesus than the people that harshly judge them.

I'm slowly learning to be more worried about the person that I am and how I treat people rather than try to put people into a convenient box and determine how to treat them based on that. It's a process.
I hope that your struggles to build relationships with others are less impeded by prejudice and bias than mine are. Or that you are at least making progress in the process of adapting to our diverse world.

John <><