NORMALIZING AND BEING LESS JUDGMENTAL: WE FORGET THE FACT THAT WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES JUDGING
“You want to remember that while you’re judging the book, the book is also judging you.”
– Stephen King
Normalizing and being less Judgmental might be a topic that is not noticed a lot by people. Probably because of the fact that humans normally judge people almost every day, because it is almost human nature and we do it all the time. But it is truly a topic that needs to be recognized more, because we live in such a judgmental society and that needs to change.
That is where the normalizing part comes in, because we also need to start normalizing different things that are completely normal, but people still get judged for. Overall, both things need to be something people need to know about because humans should be able to feel like they are not being judged when they are being themselves.
I personally have come to learn some very interesting things about normalization; such as how we as a society are judgmental because we lack acceptance. Some other reason might be because we don’t know the person well, we can’t identify with the persons belief system values and behavior, we feel threatened by the person, or we just lack self-love and to bring our selves up, we opt for tearing others down.
Another thing I found was that people with mental health conditions feel judged because there are many stereotypes about mental health on TV shows and movies or just on the internet—or because they get called names, etc. Because of the judgment the person might not get the help they need, which can cause their mental health to get worse.
One last thing is that people who are a part of the LGBTQ community feel judged because even if they know people accept them there will always be people who don’t. Because of that they are told to hide who they are and be what other people want them to be. Like with mental health, some people will get called names or even not be allowed to shop or eat at certain places. That teaches people who are a part of the community to not be themselves and fit the standards of others.
Due to of all these things people feel they have to be a certain way because of other people and their standards. What people should be able to do is be happy and be themselves. If we judge other people, we prevent them and ourselves from living a happy and healthy life.
It has also been very cool to have an epistolary exchange with normalizing and being less judgmental–as I’ve noticed from looking at the writings that my topic of normalizing and being less judgmental wants me to do more research. My topic feels like the best thing I can do is research to learn more or get information from someone else because that is one of the best ways to learn new things. Especially when it comes to social movement topics and the things/questions I’m bringing up. Although sometimes my social movement is able to answer very vividly or tells me some things based on research.
It’s like how the introductory quote says, how you want to remember that while you’re judging the book, the book is also judging you. The quote makes me think how humans are like the book in this quote. We go about our day most likely judging others, yet sometimes I feel we forget the fact that we are not the only ones judging. There will probably be someone else or multiple people within a day that you pass or encounter that make some sort of judgment you just do not know it. Imagine how many people each day could be thinking bad things about you or even saying them.
By joining this movement, I believe you will come to also realize that there are ways to stop people from judging, or at least get people to judge others less. As well as joining the movement can open your eyes and bring it to your own attention that you most likely judge other people a lot. There are ways for you to get better at not judging as much, and there are ways to spread the word to others and open their eyes as well.
In the end there will always be a way to make the situation better. There is always a process for change, for you to learn from others and grow as a human, as well as challenge yourself to be a better person. It might take time, but you can always change your own behavior.
You can contact me through my email—avenoli000@bellinghamschools.org
Written by Olivia Aven