Our world is one giant ecosystem of people. All of us fulfill a role or occupation that makes the whole world go round.
So, it makes little sense to look down on others who have a different occupation, education level, or background than you.
We still need all kinds of people in our world to make it work. Diversity helps us to cultivate respect and compassion and helps us to learn and experience new things.
If we all looked upon each other with less judgment and forgiveness, the world would probably be a much nicer place.
Until then, a lot of people are going to end up putting a foot in their mouth.
Like one woman who decided to make a disparaging comment to her daughter after spotting a man covered in dirt from a long day at work.
Andy Ross of Vancouver, Washington’s post about his encounter with this woman and his attempt to educate her ended up going viral a few years ago.
It started when Ross stopped in a store before heading home after work. His dirt covered face caught the attention of the woman’s daughter.
“Which is fine,” Ross wrote in his post. “I know that kids are curious when they see someone, especially as dirty as I was.”
The girl and her mother were in front of Ross as he stood in the checkout line.
The mother then caught her daughter starring at Ross and told her to stop.
Once they were checked out, the mother and daughter walked toward the door.
Before they left, Ross could hear the mother whisper something to her daughter about him.
“As they finished and headed towards the door, I hear her mom say quietly to the little girl ‘That is why you need to stay in school.’ I figured this was a great time to educate this mother and her 7/8 year old daughter,” Ross wrote.
What this woman didn’t know was that Ross was actually very educated. He graduated from high school, college, and has several medical certifications.
So, he let this woman hear it.
“So assuming that I am uneducated because of my appearance is actually quite ignorant in itself,” Ross told her.
“Secondly, if you are telling your daughter to stay in school because I have tattoos up and down my arms, that will actually suppress her creativity and potentially hinder her imagination as she develops.”
Ross went on to explain that his tattoos were a tribute to the time he spent in the U.S. Armed Forces serving multiple combat tours as a special operations medic. But he wasn’t done there.
“Third, if you’re referring that statement to the hat (not featured) I’m wearing because it features an elk, you might not understand it. I happen to co-own Evergreen State Outdoors and am proud to own an outdoors company and support my rights to hunt and responsibly be a gun owner.”
Both Ross’ Facebook page and the page for Evergreen State Outdoors are no longer accessible but Ross did say that he also works as a construction worker. A profession that he chose.
“Finally, I chose to work in a construction industry. I am proud to say that I am apart of building America and I enjoy my job every day. I tried working a desk job when I got out of the service and it wasn’t for me. I enjoy working with my hands and being outdoors. Subsequently, it comes with being dirty some days. I make good money, have benefits, and am able to provide for my family without issue,” Ross went on.
Ross’ post went on to explain a few things he hoped people would take away from his story:
- That you shouldn’t judge a person based on their looks
- To do what you love so you won’t have to work a day in your life
- Respect blue-collar jobs. These can pay well without having to sacrifice your humanity
- Education is important but not everything. It should be combined with experience, hard work, and dedication
He left the woman and her daughter telling them to have a good day and asked her not to judge others before knowing anything about them. Not bad advice!
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