Recently, passing judgement has not been sensible or considered.
As humans it seems to be in our nature to pass judgement.
It has become part of our lives.
We seem to babble on about sweet nothings.
We condone activities we do not believe are right without viewing all the perspectives.
We pass negative criticism on a daily basis.
In the case of Oscar Pistorius, a magistrate passed a judgement and it was viewed as incorrect.
Therefore another judgement had to be passed.
It feels wrong to judge a person, especially without knowing their living, financial or social situation.
For all we know, this person could truly be living on the street or conducting an experiment on the effects of being homeless.
It is tragic that we pass this judgement without even knowing their name.
What is worse, we will not make the effort to understand their situation or actually ask for their name.
Yet, we know their life story.
“She looks horrible in that”, “You are too fat to be wearing that”, “He is so ugly” or “Look at how disgusting they are.” These comments produce so much negativity we do not even realise it.
These little judgements have caused people to question their being in the world.
We may say these bitter phrases when the person is not around, but it is guaranteed that they will be heard somehow.
Why do we need to pass judgement?
More specifically, why do we need to pass negative judgement?
Verbal abuse has caused depression and other psychological problems.
We do not recognise the passing of negative judgement as a form of abuse because we are not talking to the person directly.
Is this not where verbal abuse begins – by negatively commenting on a person without understanding the situation.
Do not get me wrong: our opinions are important and should be expressed openly.
However, opinions which are shared to intentionally hurt a person or cause chaos should not be allowed.
Passing negative judgement seems easier to do than giving a compliment.
Saying “You are beautiful”, “That dress looks great” or “Wow, you have such a brilliant mind” has become foreign to us.
Negative judgement and assumptions cause chaos, hurt feelings and, sadly, even death.
Compliments, praise and admiration cause people to feel valued, worthy and special.
Say nice things and nice things are bound to happen.
