Posted on 03/09/2005 9:47:25 AM PST by qam1
Only pajamas accepted.
"You may not be a bad person. And dressing in this manner won't get you shunned for life. But remember that the person mocking you could be a heavily tattooed, 25 year old guy in a punk rock band!"
LOL!! Hey, I never said that I don't get dressed up for certain occasions. I get dressed up for fancy restaurants (which I very rarely go to), church, and I'd get dressed up for the "Opera" (IF I'd ever even WANT to go see one...which I highly doubt). My children were required to get "dressed up" for these things as well. My only issue is with people who judge others based on what they are wearing, or for that matter, what they "look" like. In my opinion, it is ignorant, rude, and for those who are Christians, it is not in keeping with the Christian values I was taught.
I would think that a "heavily tattooed, 25 year old guy in a punk rock band", would understand more than most about how it feels to be judged by how you look. You seem like a real nice guy and it would be a real shame for someone to judge you by how you look, or what music you prefer to perform. Our youngest son is 23 years old and he likes tatoos. He has three of them. He is also a delightful, young man, handsome, well-groomed, good head on his shoulders, hard worker, compassionate, kind, loving, honest as the day is long...yata yata. And you know what? He has been treated like trash by SOME people who take one look at his tattoo and make judgements about him based only on that.
I also remember people rudely pointing out and "judging" a man in our hometown when I was a little girl. He showed up in church every Sunday in his tattered old pants, and worn out boots. He never said much, but would nod his head to the ladies, shake the preacher's hand, and always sit in the back pew. Perhaps he didn't think he was "good enough" to sit with the rest of us and that always made me feel sad. I like to think that God wasn't up in the pulpit with the preacher, but was sitting beside the old man in the back pew. :)
Huh? I did not say that President Reagan told me the story. I said the story was "about President Reagan." It was on a Larry King Live show in honor of President Reagan's birthday.
HA! I hear the same stories as my husband is a cop too. He has had several gang bangers take their pants off so they can run, so they are catching on!
If that is all the man can afford, then those clothes should not be held against him.
If, however, he wears those clothes because he is ignorant or making some type of statement, then there is nothing wrong about calling him on it.
I guess your town makes a smarter crook than ours! LOL
Regards,
PS: Hubby's FAST...I doubt taking off their pants will do them any good (he caught ME, didn't he?) ;)
I know you were trying to be funny, but you have inadvertently brought up an important point. Just as people judge you by the way you dress, they also judge you by the way you write and speak. Occasional errors are excusable, but consistent misuse of the language damages hampers your ability to communicate with others.
A colleague of mine had a teaching assistant whose e-mail to the students was always full of errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. For instance, he would not bother to capitalize the first word of a sentence or put a period at the end of a sentence. He steadfastly maintained that such things are unimportant -- the reader could figure out what he meant.
However, it is not true that the reader can always figure out what was meant. Nor should he have to. Communication is difficult enough; frequent errors tend to draw attention to themselves at the expense of the message. The writer who insists that such errors do not matter can reasonably be accused of showing contempt for his reader.
Likewise with clothing. One of the purposes of clothing is to communicate. Those who dress inappropriately for the occasion tend to draw draw attention to themselves. In some cases, they can reasonably be accused of showing contempt for others who are present.
Their luggage was lost?
You just reminded me of my cousin's wedding. I had no shoes. We traveled for five hours and got there just in time to dress for the wedding and show up. When I searched our luggage for my dress shoes, they were not there. I was only nine or so, but it was very embarrassing.
Relax, I've got cousins who dress like that, and we get along fine. But at family weddings and funerals they've never looked like Bud and Sissie heading to Gilley's. Not quibbling about everyday dress, just countering the myth that Texans don't know how to dress appropriately for certain occassions. Hey, if someone wants to have a them e or 'everyday dress' special occassion, more power to them. But that isn't the norm here, or anywhere for that matter.
No one gives a second look to KIKKer's (jeans, boots, and western shirts for our non-Houston readers) on the street, but if someone wants to get all costumed up(no matter what style), people are going to comment. 10-gallon hats look silly in an office building, same as fall-off-ya-butt slacks or S&M leather pants. If someone wants to show patriotism by wearing Lee Greenwood flag shirts everyday, good for them, but they shouldn't be shocked and flabbergast if others note that such dress isn't the typical Houston look.
The place I notice it most is at funeral homes. My lord, why don't people show a little respect?
Wearing jeans to an opera is completely classless. If you don't mind appearing as though you have no class, by all means, wear jeans to the opera.
We had matching western shirts (black and white colorblock)and we both had black jeans on. And your point is....?
"If that is all the man can afford, then those clothes should not be held against him.
If, however, he wears those clothes because he is ignorant or making some type of statement, then there is nothing wrong about calling him on it."
Therein lies the problem with judging folks. If I'm not walking in their shoes, how can I know? How can I possibly know what someone can afford, or can't afford. How will I know if the "old man in the back pew" is just choosing to be "ignorant", "wasn't raised right", or if he was as poor as he looked.
For example, if a husband comes to church with his wife and children....and the wife and children are wearing dress clothes, but the husband is wearing his work jeans......should I "assume" that the husband is being disrespectful? Or perhaps he works hard to earn what he can so that his wife and children can have nice clothes, while he goes without? I'm actually shocked to see that many people just don't "get it" when it comes to judging others. wow, too sad....
Yes, we have to teach our children not to be judgemental!
My cousins have pink and blue mohawks, tatooes and body piercings galore. Their jeans are falling down most of the time and they both smoke. We went to a family wedding and my daughter and son were terrified of them (they are 7 and 4), and I had to explain that just because they looked strange didn't mean they were bad. I gave my cousins a hug and told the kids their names, my daughter started asking questions about the peircings, etc. Both kids softened up to them and weren't scared after awhile. I took a picture of these 2 little kids in a white dress and suit (they were in the wedding) and my cousins and it is a hoot! We show it to everyone and laugh.
Of course after the wedding I told my kids that just because my cousins had peircings didn't mean I approved but that I still loved them.
PS My cousins actually dressed appropriately for the wedding, dress and suit!
I see couples walking around wearing the same outfits. I never understood why anyone would want to do that.
"PS Would tattoos and body piercing be signs of progress?"
be careful! I'm heavily tattooed and am in agreement with you on this argument. See post 130.
:-)
Not only do all the parishners at my church wear jeans, but the pastoral staff as well, even at the pulpit. Our church intentionally made the decision to make church NOT about dressing up. Anyone can walk off the street and feel at home in our church.
Well, then we're even...I never expected to find so many snobs on here.
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