Judging others. Are there times we should?

[420Jack]

I feel it's a fake/lie feel good phrase to say "I don't judge others." I'm a very literal person and can't be talked out of that lol. I think it's downright nessecary to make judgements of others. For safety for starters. At it's most basic, to prevent physical attack or avoid abusive relationships. Physical or mental.

I'd really like to hear others thoughts in as many ways as possible. Where would one like to draw a line? When is it benificial to be judgemental? And when is it harmful?

 

[TheOrangeEatsCreeps]

You should read Discipline & Punish. It's about how we've moved from physical, public discipline preformed by the state to a psychological kind performed by all members of society. We see this especially now, when people feel entitled to record total strangers and post them online for other strangers' entertainment. Overall, it's pretty twisted and the further you can distance yourself from that mindset the easier you'll find it to not constantly police and ritually chasten yourself. If someone's running up to you with a knife in their hand, sure, you could probably make a sound judgement of that person. But if you see someone sitting across the street in ratty clothes and your unconscious tells you "this person is going to hurt me" that's the justification for judging someone, not the reason. We're not monkeys running from tigers in a jungle anymore. Try to see the best in your fellow man.

 

[Kavka]

I subconsciously judge people all the time based on every stereotype or contextual factor that is readily available to me. The best I can do is try to be aware of this fact so that I don't act and discriminate on the basis of these judgements.

However, I also consciously judge people all the time, for example people who think they don't judge based on their own feelings, stereotypes and preconceived ideas.

 

[derpyderpins]

Agreed with the need to avoid abusive relationships.

I think you need to somewhat judge people, while also being forgiving. You need to be able to judge and identify toxic behavior (self-obsession, narcissism, superiority complexes, untrustworthiness, selfishness, etc.) so that you can protect yourself, not so that you can put others down. I've learned that being too forgiving and trusting can lead to you getting caught in someone else's pit of negativity. It's good to believe that anyone can improve and change, but you have to be able to identify threats and likely limitations so you can keep a healthy distance.

 

[Tesha]

I think it's impossible to not judge. However if you're aware enough, then to some degree you can choose what to do with the outcome of your judgment. IMO, there are many people who cannot overcome their own biases to even consider attributes in other people's opinions.

On here, I've observed there's a group of people, who display similar set of beliefs. To me they appear to be more judgmental, lacking in empathy or potentially critical thinking skills than others. But… that's me judging them… hence my initial sentence.

 

[sash]

Look at animals, they judge each other. Are u gonna eat me, will we share this space without fear or aggression. Sizing each other up.
Its natural.
Most humans however take it further going from basic natural animalistic judgements to see if we are safe with another, to judging based on their thoughts/beliefs. However biased they may be. Taking it too far, hurting people if they dont fit their mindset. Cruel judgements. Unnecessary.