I do not know a single person who thinks he or she is judgmental.
That is how I know for sure that I am.
The piece below is about how nobody thinks they’re cruel. They are doing it for your own good.
The word judgmental is exactly like the word cruel.
Nobody thinks he’s judgmental. They are dong it for your own good or because “someone has to make a decision” or because they are not speaking for themselves but for the Cause or for God.
One of the greatest inventors of all time was the priest who first said, “You do not have to do what I say. You have to follow the Law of our Supreme God Ukka which I have revealed to you.”
A more colloquial form of this phenomenon is the endless Sayings of Lincoln. As one person pointed out, “If Lincoln said half the things people quote from him he wouldn’t have had time to do anything else.”
What happened, of course, was that Ben down at the country store thought of something really good. But the other guys didn’t want to say “Ben said this.” It wouldn’t impress anybody. So they described it as a Lincoln Saying.
The first priest, Ukka’s boy, didn’t try to enforce anything himself. he just said, “Do this or my big buddy Ukka will hit you with eleven plagues and you teenage daughter will have the biggest outbreak of zits on record.”
Lenin was not judgmental. He just executed people by the millions for the sake of Marxism. A dead man’s writings are as good as an unseen Ukka.
How do you tell whether you are being moral or judgmental?
It’s a matter of judgment.
#1 by Elizabeth on 08/31/2005 - 3:45 pm
I’ve been on the receiving end of this a _lot_.
I’ve always been the target of the “for your own good” folks, no matter how badly they screw up their own lives.
But if I _dare_ to protest bad treatment or just bad manners, “You’re so judgmental!Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” comes from my self-appointed “betters.”
#2 by Elizabeth on 08/31/2005 - 3:45 pm
I’ve been on the receiving end of this a _lot_.
I’ve always been the target of the “for your own good” folks, no matter how badly they screw up their own lives.
But if I _dare_ to protest bad treatment or just bad manners, “You’re so judgmental!Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” comes from my self-appointed “betters.”
#3 by Peter on 08/31/2005 - 7:07 pm
When people have tried to tell me that they are doing something evil to me for my own good, I have to stop and find out what they REALLY want. It always comes down to one of a few things, like: the boss wants to give her son your job, for which he is unqualified; since you did such an excellent job, a coworker or the boss no longer looks like number one; since you are well-liked, a coworker or the boss no longer looks like number one; since you are completely honest, you can’t be trusted; since you aren’t gay and you rejected his advances he is going to ruin you.
But what they tell you is that you don’t belong with them and it would be for your own good if they helped you get to where you belong — heaven.
#4 by joe rorke on 09/01/2005 - 5:54 pm
I never thought I’d squeeze in here. I am one of the most judgmental people I know. Have been for a long time. I enjoy it immensely. If I catch Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly or that upstart Sean Hannity in a lie (that is, of course, done on a daily basis), there is unfathomable joy in referring to them as the lowest form of human life alive. Is this being judgmental? I hope so. I work at it. Or is a natural thing being that I’m an Irishman. Judging Michael Savage is especially pleasing to me. I call him a foulmouthed dog unworthy to speak to the American public. This dog rather than actually carry on a discussion with a caller simply calls the person ungentlemanly names over the air. Is there anyone easier to pass judgment on than this foulmouthed dog? I think not. Not even Limbaugh. Oh, yes, I am very much given to being judgmental. It seems the natural thing to do. I can’t imagine a person not being judgmental. To judge, it seems to me, is to discriminate. I think we should all discriminate. Since when do we not discriminate? There was a time when it was a compliment to be referred to as “a discriminating man.” Oh, and now we should not discriminate. And what are the benefits of that, opray tell? Sorry, you lose. I’m going to continue to be judgmental. I read Bob Whitaker’s piece and I passed judgment. I said, “this is good. This is very good.” That’s my idea of being judgmental. That’s who I am. A judgmental Irishman.
#5 by Peter on 09/02/2005 - 8:52 am
Bob-
Half the fun coming here are the good comments, such as Joe Rorke’s above.