Have you ever looked at someone and wondered, “What’s up with that person?” Do you look at a person in disgust because of how they look or dress? Do you feel disgusted by some people just because of the way they look or dress?

It’s all about stereotyping people and pre-judging someone without getting to know that person..

STEREOTYPE: is a fixed, overgeneralized, and simplified belief about a group or class of people. It assigns specific traits or expectations to all members of that group, ignoring individual differences.

Almost 2 years ago, I came to that reality about myself when I met a young man named Joey where I was staying. When I saw him from a distance, I did a double look at him and felt very concerned about what he was doing in such a place as were at. I was concerned about the way he was dressed that someone would hurt him. He would dressed up in women’s clothes.

It wasn’t until I got a chance to know him that I saw him at a different light. He opened up my eyes to the fact that we all stereotype someone, one way or another. We all have the tendency to prejudge someone before we get to know that person. As God told Samuel as he was searching for David, “Men looks at the outward appearance-while God looks at the heart.”

Joey took a chance on me so we could get to know each others. I had a chance to hear his story. I grew to love and accept him as one of God’s children. It didn’t matter how he dressed or his lifestyle choice. We became friends as I took him under my wings, looking out for him. I will cherished the memory I had with Joey even though I had grown attached to him. He may have been a hard habits to break; but I will cherished his friendship.

Jesus Christ scolded the Jewish Pharisees for being hypocritical by not accepting others. They saw anyone who was different from them as being “unclean.” Remember, Jesus came down to earth not just for the healthy but for the sick as well. People needs the Lord.

Some so-called religious leaders in the church today do the same thing that Jesus accused the Pharisees of. If they don’t fit in a certain mold like Joey for example. In some churches, some may find it disgusting if someone comes to church not dressed in church clothes but rather jeans that are dirty or have holes in them.

Now Mother Theresa’s ministry was working with the lepers in Calcutta, India. Now Lepers are considered to be an outcast and shunned by society.

I will give some examples of people who are considered outcast and shunned by society. At one time, anyone who had AIDS were considered to be an outcast. After Rock Hudson died of AIDS, the joke going around was: “do you know how to prevent getting AIDS? You are to sit on your ass and keep your mouth shut.”

TRANS were all lumped together and have a mental illness and are violent. I don’t believe that is true because of knowing Joey the way I do. Even though, I don’t think that the schools should be teaching this gender mutations in our schools; it doesn’t mean I don’t accept them. Anyone who teaches that to our kids should register as a sex offender, because they are sexually abusing our kids.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachman felt that homosexuality is a form of mental illness and they should be institutionalize and deprogram. Homosexuality is not a mental illness. God doesn’t make junk! God loves us no matter who we are.

Let’s get to the real reason for this blog though; and that is the homeless problems in this country. There are more than one reason why people are homeless. Yet, society would lump all homeless together as being winos and drug addicts. There are people who are homeless for other reasons as well. They complained about the homeless situation but they doesn’t want to do anything about it. They see homeless as lepers, the outcast of society. They want to put the homeless all into one area just to separate them from the rest of society. That way they don’t have to look at them in disgust and disgracer. Like the saying goes, “out of sight-out of mind.” Not all who are homeless are alcoholics or drug addicts. Some may have mental illness, some are families who are living on the streets because they cannot afford a place to live. Some may have been evicted for some reasons either of their own faults or the landlords choosing to kicked them out without giving a liable reason for it. There are elderly who are homeless.

It’s a crying shame that some Veterans are homeless. They fought for this country, for our freedom, but because of the government, they are not well taken care of for their service to this country. In this case, I’m glad for the “Tunnel to Towers,” set up in memory of Stephen Siller by his brother Frank Siller. Stephen Siller was a firefighter who was killed on September 11, 2001 attack.

Have you ever been compared to someone else? Then you are guilty of stereotyping and lumping people together like society would do with the homeless, Trans, or the gay community.

I remembered growing up my mother would compared my sister and I when it came to our reports cards. If one person got a good grade and the other didn’t, she would get mad by saying, “Why can’t you be more like your sister or brother?

Even the schools are guilty of comparing students together and stereotyping. If a child is high energy, they think that they have ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, they are all hyperactive and need to be medicated. They rather drugged our kids so that they can easily control them. Kids will be kids, let them be.

My mother’s favorite song was, “Don’t Laugh at Me, by Mark Wills. We are not all alike. We should get to know someone before we condemned someone. Yet we are so quick to judge someone for whatever reasons.

Some people would even judge you if they don’t like who voted for, for example anyone who voted for Donald Trump are called racist or Nazi.

Let us take the time to get to know someone; instead of being quick to condemn someone because we don’t like who they voted for, what they are wearing, or even their lifestyle choice. Let us see a person as God sees them. Let us look at the heart of a person. Who knows, you may find that you like that person after all.

I’m glad for the opportunity of getting to know my young friend, Joey. I’m glad that he took a chance on me. I cherished the memories I have with Joey.

Let us just get along with one another and quit judging someone for whatever reason or their circumstances in life. We are all God’s children. It doesn’t matter if we’re black or white, or whatever other reasons. By learning to get along with others, love wins in the end.