It may be everyones right to judge you by your appearance, but it isn't always right.
*WARNING: LONG MESSAGE/RANT AHEAD*.
After my father started his home business, he quickly learned that when he drove his old van while wearing a plain shirt and pants that were worn, he would get treated like **** by most of the store owners he was trying to sell to as well as the other vendors. It wasn't his fault, it was all he could afford. Wearing a suit and driving a new Cadillac is not always a choice.
However, he also learned that many of the store owners who used to treat him like **** and the other vendors, who were always bragging about there brand new fancy large camper or truck, were actually the ones who didn't have any money. The store owners and other vendors would buy from him, give him a check, and guess what? They would bounce time and time again, and those same store owners would eventually go out of business. They didn't have a bunch of money because they owned a store and had employees, they just spent a lot money.
The guys who had the new campers and trucks? They lost them quickly because they couldn't afford them from the beginning.
While driving under the same circumstances as stated above, my father would be stopped by cops more often and would be told he performed some made up illegal maneuver. And when they would walk up to the van and see a Mexican looking guy with a white female passenger, the question proposed was "Who's that?" referring to the white woman. From their mannerisms, you could tell they thought he was picking up a prostitute.
The funny thing is he isn't Mexican and she wasn't a prostitute.
It is not uncommon for people to treat me differently, and sometimes in a disrespectful way. Is it because of the way I dress? Sometimes I suppose. I mostly dress casual but my clothes aren't full of holes and my pants don't sag down off my ass, if that means anything. However, I look like a Mexican and look a few years younger then I actually am, I have a small frame and lean body composition, am no more then 5' 3", and currently weigh somewhere between 125-128 pounds.
Why do I sometimes get shrugged off and snubbed at or subtly treated like I'm in a different class when meeting new people when the other bigger guys are not? The only thing that somewhat gets me through that division is my personality and people skills. According to M-W.com, the definition of disappoint is: "to fall short in satisfying the expectation or hope of", and in these cases I don't expect to be treated equally, I hope for it, and am often disappointed.
In a situation like this is it wrong to complain about being treated differently by your society due to your looks even though you can not ever change them?
The point being made is don't always judge someone by their looks and property. When someone drives up in a brand new Cadillac and is dressed in the most expensive clothing, it doesn't mean they have a lot of money, it just means they probably spent a lot of money. And the money they spent may not have been theirs; it could have been plenty of credit and loans where they are now up to their neck in bills.
Note: This post is not specifically directed toward anyone.
