Musings on a Small Life

As I was walking home yesterday after work, I passed a grossly obese woman (probably only in her 30s) in a motorized wheelchair, headed in the opposite direction. We were abreast of each other when some rednecked asshole, a passenger in a slightly beat-up looking dark truck, leaned out the window and yelled, "Eeeeeewwwww!" The woman shouted back, "Go home!" which I found odd. Had it been me, I'd more likely have flipped him a finger or cursed audibly in self-defense. (Or perhaps burst into tears, being the super-sensitive and thin-skinned person I am.) Granted, the idiot in the truck (please, Goddess, don't let him breed) could have been shouting at me--I've certainly had enough nasty and cutting comments made to me over the decades to leave permanent, deep scars--but this time I don't think so. And I couldn't help but wonder if this woman has to deal with crap like this every day. How she possibly copes. How she manages to get up in the morn...

We all make them, in a split second, unconsciously. Sometimes snap judgments are a good thing, as when we are facing danger of some sort. But more often than not, I think, snap judgments are ego-based criticisms of people. We size another person up within seconds and judge what s/he is like on appearance. And yes, our views can change, as we get to know someone. But first impressions--those snap judgments--often remain fixed. I took the bus part way home yesterday, a few blocks on a busy route, one of the main routes in the city. Across the aisle from me were two middle-aged women, probably in their early to mid-50s. One was wearing a cute sleeveless shift, white with embroidery along the hem. This woman also happened to be quite chunky, with flabby arm skin that was hanging down more than six inches. More like eight. My first thought, my snap judgment, was that this woman should not be wearing anything sleeveless, that all the flab was disgusting and she obviously was clueless and tac...