I have a theory. It is about the human perception of itself and the understanding of the unknown human need.
I want you to just relax for a moment. Picture in your mind the last time you walked through your local shopping centre on a busy day. Think of every person you passed. I do not expect you to pick out specific details, but just remember something about each person. Consider how many people you walk past in a moment, a minute, five minutes, one hour and so on. For each person, I want you to give them a color; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Piurple or Pink. Once you have done that, read the list below and it will tell you what you have walked past.
Red: This person is violent.
Orange: This person has a mental illness
Yellow: This person was born overseas.
Green: This person struggles with an addiction
Blue: This person has a physical disability (obvious or not)
Purple: This person has a very stereotypical attitude towards a minority.
Pink: This person is homosexual.
Consider this for a moment. You have labelled a lot of people around you, probably falsely, with something that you can't really tell. These things, more commonly invisible than obvious, But what this theory is about is the perception of the human world in one mind and in many minds.
Consider this little activity the next time you are out down the street. All these people, somewhat normal in their everyday appearance, have a hidden something. It is not your place to know what it is, but consider that very few people you walk past will not be suffering one of these things. In fact it is a near garantee you won't meet someone who hasn't been through or is going through one of these things, if not more.
What the human perception is generally wired to do is not to contemplate what is not obvious. And when it is obvious, our minds instantly jump in one of a few directions.
Pity: Feeling sorry for the person
Anger: That they make their problems others problems
happiness: That the person is (hopefully) brave enough to face life, reguardless
Uncertainty: human fear of the unknown.
In everything that makes us human, we need to accept that there is something wrong with all of us, and that we are not perfect. my theory, however, does not place itself on the obvious.
My theory is that the human mind cannot accept what it does not understand from experience. We cannot understand issues of sexuality if we have ot been through it or had someone close to us go through it. We cannot accept mental or physical disability if we do not have it or care for someone who does. We cannot understand different culture without having lived it. We cannot understand addiction if we haven't dealt with it, or seen someone dealing with it. There is no general acceptance for these things beyond perception and listening. And while I do not expect everyone to go through these things in their lifetime (at least not all of them) I do expect that the human mind will percieve that there is something to be said for these different groups.
When we see someone who has a real problem with their temper, what is the first thing we think of? Clearly, our own protection from this person, which is fair enough. But when we pass that, we tend to think negatively on the person for their outlandish behaviour. Instead of that, my theory is that the human mind can take a different approach. That in viewing this perosn, there can be seen a reason for their behaviour and a reason for their not knowing another way. I do not mean to say this justifys their actions, should they be less than reasonable. But there is a reason why they are prone to acting this way.
lets look at a different group, like someone born overseas. Yes, this can be obvious by different skin color, different customs in general living and so forth. But for some it isn't so obvious. While it might be easy to pick someone who is asian or african american by sight, could you pick an american or a europian by sight? the answer is probably not. And even in this, you discover that there are some things hidden from view.
Even sexuality, a topic of major debate, is something that is hidden. I do not expect that many people walk around with their sexuality on their sleeves, and that even the most obvious might not be and the least obvious could be. It is all down to the unseen part of the mind. But when we are presented with someone who is same-sex attracted, what is our first thoughts? For some, it is self preservation of their ego. For some it is the wondering thought of what goes through that persons mind. having seen and heard it often enough myself, it makes things interesting in conversation, or very negative. There is always, in one way or another, small underlying hints that the person is not comfortable or are trying to remind you constantly of their own sexuality. However, what they haven't seen is the other side of the sexuality. The boiling down is that sexuality only rules so uch of a persons life, despite what some people present in their own theories. The other side of sexuality is mortality, and that even these people, as different as they are in their private lives, are actually about as similar as you and I and Uncle Bob.
Lets talk about mental disability. What comes to your mind when I say that or as you read it? The first thing that probably rocks up is someone who has Down Syndrome. Once again, the human mind only chooses the obvious. What about people with Autism? What about Bipolar Disorder or Aspurgas? These are things you cannot see but still exist. You will walk past a lot of people with a mental disability in a single day, from depression to anxiety to paranoia. You will never know it is there, but it is. And for those who are mysophobic, these things are not catching, they are simply a condition of the human mind that affects everyday living in the persons head. What do you think of these people? It is surprising some of the things people will say without a lot of consideration. But try it this way, if a person has a mental disability, whatever the level, it is a sign that they might have a hyperintelligence or a more wild personality. Or it is something unhelpable except through correct medication to keep it at bay. In any event, these people are still human.
My theory within getting you to view these perceptions at a different angle is to understand the two viewpoints we take. One is simple judgmentalism and the other is an attempt to understand.
From here, scroll back up to the color list and choose the colors that reperesent you. Yes, pluril. So you don't feel left out, I will do it myself.
Orange (mental disability), Green (Struggles with addiction), Blue (physical disability), Pink (same-sex attracted). Yes, I openly admit all these things. I have a mental disability, have an addiction problem, have a physical disability and identify as same-sex ttracted. How many colors have you picked up? Are you being honest with yourself? For the colors you have choosen, you can safely say, on some level, that you understand these viewpoints, because you have been there and lived it. the other colors you can understand TO A POINT but not in their full context.
My next point is for you to take a look at someone else in your mind who also fits into one of these catagories that you have picked out for yourself. How do you react towards them? How do you percieve them as humans or individuals? What is your general responce towards theese people? Would you stop and help them if you knew? I hope the answer is yes.
the theory is that people fear what they do not understand, and are quick to judge because they do not understand. Understanding that fear comes from not having lived through it themselves. The result is a closed-minded world. My theory is that humans can percieve more and judge less if they experience more in their lives. I do understand that no one person is going to experience all of these things at once, and how could they? On some levels, it is possible, but it is not an easy life. However, the human body can endure quite a bit. the theory is that if each person in this world faced at least four of these issues, both in a positive and negative way, then they would e a lot less judging and more open to the potentials of blockades. They might see the potential in others, and this is what I hope that, one day, we will see.
I have a theory. it is based on human perception of itself and the basic human needs in others. I hope you have enjoyed reading it.
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