We’re often told to be kind because we don’t know what the other person is going through. And making snap judgments about someone whose life story you don’t know can blow up in your face.
A man learned this lesson in the most embarrassing way, and it would likely haunt him for life. It happened after deciding to pester a woman at a bar because of how she walked.
A woman teaches a creepy guy at a bar a lesson on kindness
As she explains, her prosthetic leg has sometimes made her struggle to walk properly
Upon seeing her, the man in question decided to give her a hard time
Her response, however, was swift and brutal, without even saying a word
A person may judge another by how they perceive their competence level
One likely reason is that people tend to cast judgment based on competence. As social psychology professor Tony Evans explains, it is one of three overarching character dimensions people often scrutinize.
“Morality (whether someone is trustworthy and honest), competence (whether someone is intelligent and skilled), and sociability (whether someone is friendly and warm),” Evans wrote.
The guy at the bar likely mistook the woman’s way of walking for a weakness and decided to give her a hard time for it. What he obviously didn’t know was that it was because of something serious.
Neurology and psychology professor Anjan Chatterjee calls this the “anomalies-are-bad” stereotype, where one person judges another person for having facial anomalies.
“The judgments occur quickly before reason enters our thinking and bias our behavior,” Chatterjee said, describing it as a “reflexive response.”
The woman’s response was commendable here. She handled the situation without causing a scene or retaliating with something as mean-spirited. She was assertive enough to stand up for herself without a single insult.
“By being assertive, you can address problems with the goal of resolving them,” psychologist Amy Lee tells the Cleveland Clinic. “(It’s) a way to protect oneself, and it’s a very honest, truthful way to approach problems.”
People had nothing but congratulatory words for the author
Others shared similar experiences
