Judgement.

     I've been having a lot of fun on Twitter this morning describing the "Peterborough uniform" with a few other Petertweeters (none of whom I know in person, but most of whom I'd love to meet, based on our similar senses of humour).
     Soooo to bring you up to speed, the average Ptbo female is described as follows: pyjama bottoms, a Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie, crocs or beat-down salt-stained fake Uggs (somewhat weather dependent, but not as much as you'd think), a puffy, midriff-bearing jacket, no mitts as they interfere with smoking and texting, several piercings and tattoos, a cigarette, an XL Timmies coffee, a $500 cell phone and a stroller.  In the stroller is a baby eating Doritos and drinking pop - or, for the more concerned moms, Gatorade because it's juice, right?  I do believe we forgot to mention the requisite two-inch roots of a vastly different colour from the rest of the hair.
     I'm not sure what started this discussion, but it's been ongoing for a few hours now, and it's been keeping me in fits of giggles (in between trying to do some actual work).  The final post on the subject stated that we might be going too far - and that got me thinking...  maybe we're being "mean girls" (even though some of the contributors have been male).  Why do we find it so enjoyable to make fun of other people?  


     When I was in high school and university (and sometimes still, even though I'm not proud of it), my favourite way to spend a social evening was to sit in a corner making fun of other people.  I embrace this type of nastiness in my friends (and usually resent it in others).  Am I better than the Ptbo girls in their pjs in public?  No.  I suspect I've made some smarter life choices (use of birth control, for example), but I certainly judge them, and others, on a regular basis.  Which leads me to the title of this post.
     Judgement.  We all live in fear of it, yet do it on a daily basis.  I'm not going to get preachy here (how can I, without coming off as a hypocrite?)  It's just something interesting to think about.
     When I was teaching, I used to try to explain to my Grade 11s and 12s why English is the only mandatory subject at that level.  My main argument was that people judge others based on their oral and written communication, perhaps even more than on appearance, and asked them how much time they spend proofreading written work compared to how long they spend getting ready to face the day every morning.  The answer was usually not nearly as long.  And yet when we apply for a job through resumes and cover letters, or look for love online, or even send an email to request information, we are judged based on what we say and how we say it. Not that a misplaced comma or misspelled word is the end of the world, but if all other elements are equal, it could be the difference between getting an interview or a response on a dating website - or not.  That seemed to make sense to them, and sometimes even caused them to buy in for the first couple of classes!  (Sometimes that's all a teacher can ask for...)
     
     I think the important question to ask is why we judge, and that's dependent on the situation.  But there's no question that negative judgement implies feelings of superiority over those being judged, whether rightly or wrongly.  So do I feel badly about judging the young ladies of Ptbo this morning over Twitter?  Not really.  Sometimes there's truth in stereotypes.  But I will tell you that while I was doing it, I was wearing dirty sweatpants from a school I haven't taught at for years over too-short purple leggings, a stretched-out WalMart sweater, mismatched socks, and hadn't washed my hair in a few days.  Don't judge me.