PSA to the world

Dear Citizens of the World, 

People don’t like being stared at. It’s rude.

Love,

All the people who appear to be different than you.

All across America parents can be found tugging at little arms and whispering firmly, “Don’t stare.”  Children of a certain age and temperament are likely to respond loudly and innocently, “But WHY?” 

Maybe a great many of these parents will try to find a way to explain that just because people appear to be different than you and maybe this will be intriguing or curious, that while every individual is special and unique, in the end people are all mostly the same.  

Maybe they will try to explain that though people have different backgrounds, different needs, or different kinds of clothes, they are still people who are doing their very best to live their lives day by day.  And that their living their lives is not a spectacle, but that in fact we should find ways to be supportive of each other in living our lives and that humanity is about helping one another to do the best that we can.  

Maybe parents will struggle to find ways to explain this idea to their little ones.  

Or maybe they will just explain that staring is rude.  That it’s not nice.  That it’s socially unacceptable.

And you know what, that’s ok. Because being stared at is not fun. It’s isolating. Unwanted attention is embarrassing at the least and hurtful at the most.  

(And human resources professionals can be found across America trying to explain that to all the Michael Scotts of the world… But that’s another topic altogether.)

Anyway, point is, I don’t agree that staring is a cultural construct that I should accept when I’m in a place where I am very different.  It makes people feel uncomfortable. It highlights people’s differences.  It’s not nice.  It is rude.

The end.