I see a 6-foot tall male with dirty blonde dreadlocks in a rainbow bandana. He was wearing a tie-dye t-shirt, brown shorts, and some sort of brown bag. I assumed the bag was made out of hemp. Based on his dress I would assume that he is very ecologically friendly. He probably likes charities and is pretty liberal in his political views. I would also probably assume that he’s pretty chill and laid back. I make all of these assumptions based solely on dress. Although these aren’t necessarily negative characteristics or values I’m still making assumptions that limit my understanding of him as a person. These assumptions probably mean that I judge people a little much although he is wearing a lot of indicators of a “hippie” to call him that term without knowing if that’s how he views himself.
I see an average height girl with long blonde hair in a ponytail. She’s reasonably tan and wearing yoga pants and a blue long sleeve shirt. She is holding a Starbucks coffee in one hand and her cell-phone in the other. She has a small black bag with a light blue yoga mat protruding from it. Based on appearances I think she’s a bit of a Yuppie (young urban professional). What she is wearing seems like it is more for fashion than it is for usefulness. The Starbucks coffee is often used as a status symbol and when paired with yoga attire she seems like someone who’s affluent or at least trying to look affluent. I could be completely wrong and she might be drinking Starbucks because it’s her favorite coffee and the yoga stuff because she practices it everyday. It shows that I am sensitive to outward displays of wealth (or perceived wealth) and I jump to conclusions reasonably fast.
I see an older gentlemen, probably late sixties early seventies. He is wearing a yellow Oregon hat over his white-haired balding head. He is also wearing a yellow Oregon jersey and Oregon beads. It is a Wednesday with no real Oregon sports games on so I assume he’s a diehard fan. I think of his age based on his wrinkled face and white hair. He is obviously inebriated and having a great time. I assume he is either a local Eugene resident or he went to the University back in the day. I think it is the first one because he doesn’t seem the college type. I make that assumption based on his drunkenness at his age and that he is still going to local bars. I feel like most college grads leave Eugene upon graduation and if not wouldn’t be out at the bars on a Wednesday night. Whichever the case I assume he’s retired since he is out drinking on a weekday. These assumptions tell me that I have designated expectations for educated people and perhaps my own future. I assume that educated people would dress a little nicer and not stay around at their Alma Mater for 50+ years afterward. From these inferences I know that I want to leave Eugene after I graduate and I sometimes judge based on appearances
I was especially interested in your second described girl. Base on her appearances, I feel the similar way that you feel. But I will think more about the back of what she wear and her behavior. According to my value, I think she just finished her job or class and took some pleasure time. Because I will usually drink coffee after finish classes to keep me focusing on my homework. Also, I feel she care about her health and body shape that she probably doing exercises every day. In addition, I will look at her face to see if there was some emotional signal on her face, since I believe people will usually express their emotion on their face.
After reading your post it is interesting to see how much we all judge people based on appearance. While this does say certain things about our own values, I think that people should also know that others will judge them some way or another. A lot of times appearance and the way we carry ourselves is the first thing that is judged. I agree with your description of the second girl and might also add that she values friends’ opinions and views. It seems as though she is following popular trends, which shows that she cares about what her peers think. It is easy to say that someone looks wealthy because they were designer brands or homeless because they are sitting on a street corner, but I think what is the most important is being able to set aside these judgments and give each person a chance based on their personality if given the opportunity.
I was interested in the first man you described. It’s funny because I can paint a perfect image in my head of the “hippie” you described since there are so many of them in Eugene. I would have made the same assumption based on the way he dressed and what he was carrying. If he was just wearing a tie dye shirt then our assumption would be totally different but since he also had dreads and a bandana he is literally screaming hippie. And he knows this because he consciously chose to have dreads he wasn’t born with them. And he has to know that dreads are synonymous with hippie so I think it is a safe assumption.
I appreciate your analysis of the 50+ man drunk in duck gear. Your judgments were very typical. Other than age, were there any other signs that he wasn’t the “college type?” In our society, formal education and inebriation are expected of young people, and less tolerated of older people. Although he may be strange, I think it’s interesting that we have such strong expectations of people we don’t even know! I though this was the land of the free? I often look at other cultures and think that they have so many neat and interesting rules for behavior that give extra value to the varying stages/roles of life’s path, however, your post reminded me that we have rules. Do you think that our societal structure of roles and expectations is a positive thing? Or a negative thing?