Mortaine’s Blog

Have I posted about this before?

I’m a judgemental person. Actually, I think most people are judgemental, with very few exceptions (like, , who I’ve never heard of or read anything judgemental from her ever). In fact, judging is a very human thing to do. All our lives, we learn to make decisions about the value of one thing over another, one cultural idea or another, or one person or another.

Whenever we buy something, we judge it– whether it is worth the price being asked for it, and whether we want it enough to pay that price. When we adopt a belief or form an opinion– something quintessentially human and certainly very American– we judge it. The act of changing the channel on our TVs is a judgemental act, turning away from one item and towards another.

So why, then, is “being judgemental” about other human beings supposed to be a bad thing? I mean, I get why being prejudgemental, based on race, religion, ethnicity, language, hair color, etc., is a bad idea and has not led to the best moments in human history. But why can’t we, after meeting someone and hearing their story, be judgemental about their lives? I mean, I get that no person can get or understand the whole story of any person’s life, but still. Can’t we, when we read a story like this one be a little judgemental and say that the parents are utterly irresponsible twits who should face serious consequences for their daughter’s actions?

I mean, really?