Friday, May 21, 2010

Boxing People

I like looking at things and considering them in different perspectives. Of late, I have realized that most people I know or I've met, have the tendency to believe the worst in other people, be they strangers or familiar. Has this tendency been always there, staring at me glaringly in the face, and I have not noticed or maybe I have refused to notice?

This brings to mind one of my musings, "@God: Why is it so easy for us to believe in evil then in goodness? Why do we believe the worst of people then in their capacity to be good? Why are we disillusioned with the truth and would not believe it even if it struck us? Why do we go along with what is false? Do people know what truth is anymore?" I remember the ethics course I took while in the university; in the first class we had we talk about what was classified as good and bad. Apparently, there is no good or bad; the society determines as time goes on activities that fall into the categories of good or bad. So something can be said to be inherently good or bad but it is open to interpretation in the contest of which it is being said. So an action, which is executed today and called good can be done again in a different time and be called bad. Don't know where I am going with this yet?

Can we stop placing people into neat little boxes of society's classifications? Give people a chance to, as I always say, 'box' themselves? Obviously, we can't look at everyone through rose-coloured glasses but not everyone is the 'everyone is doing it'-type either.

I listen to my instincts when it comes to people, with some people I get the 'bad vibe' and others the 'good vibe' but more often then not the vibe is in-between. So far, I haven't been wrong. I 'flow' well with the 'good vibe' people and try to surround myself with such but I have the in-between ones too. With the 'bad vibe', I am polite, civil, all the good adjectives, but there is always the wall of 'please, don't get too close.' Perhaps these are my neat little 'boxes'. I guess we can't help but classify people, if not out loud maybe in our minds, but first let us give them a chance to prove us wrong or rather 'box' themselves?

Enjoy the weekend.

4 comments:

Island Gal said...

Agree! We need to stop with classifications.

I tend to always look for the good in people but everybody calls me naive.

Great post!

Aba T. Tetteh said...

Thank you IGal and you cannot be naive if you look out for good in people, just be real.

Ms Afropolitan said...

Loving the idea of people 'boxing themselves', especially as there are probably 'good' and 'bad' sides to everyone.
Also, knowing what it feels like to be wrongly 'boxed' makes one do so even less.
Good post!

Aba T. Tetteh said...

@MsAfropolitan: Thanks.