Have you ever judged someone on their appearance without really getting to know them first?
Because we’re all human, this impulse sometimes seems unavoidable. Still, when we’re in our higher intelligence, we know that we shouldn’t do this. Generally speaking, we should let others express themselves outwardly however they want to and judge them based on their own individuality. Still, many of these behaviors get learned and passed down through our families and our cultures.
As an example, one of these stories recently went viral.
It all started when a man named Luc Perreault was walking into a Tim Horton’s in Alberta, Canada.
Just to look at Perreault, he is a 280-pound man who dresses in traditional biker fashion and strikes an imposing figure. On the day he walked into that Tim Horton’s to get some coffee and take a break, he ran into a mother and a daughter. After a moment, the little girl walked up to him to say hello. Perreault smiled and said hello back before the mother pulled her daughter away.
Without looking at Perreault, the mother told her daughter that: “We don’t talk to dirty bikers.”
Needless to say, the comments were very hurtful to Perrault.
Still, he felt a need to defend himself and to share his experiences with the world. Instead of getting into an argument with the mother, Perreault waited to post a message on Facebook:
“To the family in the red SUV at Tim Horton’s today,
Yes I am a big 280 lb guy with motorcycles and full of tattoos, I am a welder, I am loud, I drink beer, I swear and I look like I would eat your soul if you stare at me wrong.
What you don’t know is that I have been happily married for 11 years, my kids call me daddy, i am a college graduate, my mother is proud of me and tells everyone how lucky she is to have such a wonderful son, my nieces and nephews are always happy to see there m’noncl Luc.
When my daughter broke her arm I cried more than she did. I read books, I help people, I go out of my way to thank war veterans and I even cried at Armageddon…..
So, next time I smile and say hi to your little girl and you grab her and tell her ” No no dear we don’t talk to dirty bikers” remember that even though you hurt my feelings this “dirty biker would be the first person to run into your burning house to save your little girls goldfish so she wouldn’t be sad!!!!”
Since posting the message, the story spread far and wide and was picked up by many news outlets.
Though the post was shared some 4,000 times on Facebook itself, the story was also covered by many different viral outlets online including Little Things and Newsner, among others. As anyone can tell from his sincere reply, the moral of this story is simple. Even if you have some preconceived ideas about someone, you should keep an open mind when meeting new people. The truth is that you don’t know anything about someone until you actually spend some time getting to know them.
Above all else, you definitely shouldn’t be rude and dismissive to others like the woman in this story!
Although nothing can take back what was said, at least Perreault has given the world the chance to hear his side of the story.
While we all make mistakes, this story is a good reminder for all of us to be a little more present in our encounters with people. So much life takes place when we think nobody is paying attention, namely little moments of courtesy between strangers in traffic or at the grocery store. Although none of us is perfect, making a real effort to be kinder to one another can make the world a much better place.
Thanks for sharing your story with the world, Luc!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
