But you're the one sat there watching those shows, so what are you doing to change things, if you truly believe this about your generation? Surely you're just feeding the machine of dumbing down? These type of cultural mores only exist because people keep tuning in in buying into the ideas they represent. The Kardashians wouldn't be on TV if people weren't watching (even if those people only tune in to feel better about their own lives).

Taken from the "Things that annoy you" thread. You judge screaming children. Not saying you're wrong, but we all judge.

I never watch those shows nornally. It was just on when I was eating dinner.

i don't judge kids because they make noise

If you meet someone and figure, "hey, she/he seems like a nice person", you're making a judgement of that person, or "observation based upon your personal disposition and values".

You obviously do, otherwise it wouldn't annoy you. By saying you hate screaming children, you're judging the child for screaming. Like on a plane I always think "Don't let a kid sit next to me."

In that instance I'm judging children. I don't care, just sayin'.

Zsa Zsa, never heard of that name before.

People seem to get judgement confused with condemnation a lot, one is neutral and the other negative.

What? That's stupid. I hate being stuck on a coach or train with screaming kids, but that doesn't mean I (necessarily) hold anything against the kids or their parents.

I also find it annoying when I stub my toe, but that doesn't mean I have judgemental feelings toward inanimate objects...

To be honest, when I'm subjected to a bratty/screaming child, I'm usually judging the parent (if they clearly don't give a crap - if they're trying to shut the kid up then fair enough). But even if the kid is legitimately upset and the parent is trying their best, the noise is still annoying - no judgement involved.

i don't think we're on the same page here??

that's probably the case.

Ok, maybe I'm alone then. When I am sat next to a screaming child I have a compulsive urge to back hand the kid and then drop kick the parents. Are you all buddhist monks or what!?

There's a difference between compulsive urges to vent and actual feelings of judgement or condemnation... In my stubbed toe example I often have a compulsive urge to kick whatever object has just wronged me, but that isn't indicative of any particular understanding I have of the situation...

Have you read/seen the play Look Back in Anger, Dark Knight? It's considered a good portrait of the "angry young man", whose life lacks purpose as there's no all-encompassing societal goal or aspirations beyond the personal (and selfish) - very Fight Club-ish, and it was written in 1956.

No, it's just half us people hate the sound of a crying child and would wish they'd just shut up, or have a mute button. What you're doing is being a diva. It's annoying, not the end of the world. But you wanting to 'back hand the kid' and 'drop kick the parents' is just....well....not right in the head.

Woah there horsey. I was exaggerating, doesn't come out well on the internet. I think I have a fairly normal reaction, I don't actually want to cause harm to the child. Sometimes to the parents, if they're being idiots about it.

Also, this whole thing stemmed from Zardoz saying she thinks it's easy to be non judgemental. I think I'm right in refuting that statement and saying that every normal person judges constantly. Am I wrong?

@chineapplepunk. I haven't seen/read that. Sounds very interesting, I will definitely check it out.

I doubt 'Take Me Out' girls are representative of an entire generation of girls.

It's TV. We aren't all like those Jersey Shore people either.

i don't think you're wrong, i think we just have different definitions of the word

Ok, I can agree with that. The screaming child wasn't a very good anology in hindsight. I'd say judging is is better defined as thinking more or less of someone due to the clothes they wear, the way they talk, carry themselves, the things they say.

I'm really bad at judging people when they're speaking. Like people who constantly talk about themselves.

I don;t understand. You began this thread complaining about people being judgemental based on a guy's occupation, but your position seems to have moved to suggesting that we're all judgemental of everybody all the time.

So are you just arguing that everyone should be judgemental in the right way then?

english isn't my mother language so it's probably my bad.
i don't look down on anyone though, even if i have lots of opinions

Fun, ain't it?

Right way, oh... here comes personal opinion and disposition into the picture. There is no right way, only your own way, which you will find to be the best for you based upon reasoning with your arbitrary values.

If you identify traits that you consider positive in another individual, your judgement of that individual will be a positive one, in the sense that "this individual seems okay", if the trait in question is apathy. Not normally considered a positive thing, but personal values and opinion determine what one might consider "better" or "worse".

This is just what I'll... "assume".

Yeah, I guess I am. I think we're all judgemental, we all look down on people at times. Some more than others, sure. I do think that it's a bad trait though, we should be more accepting. Like you mentioned, it's no worse those girls looking down on a fish monger, than it is me looking down on someone on the JK show. I hadn't thought of it like that until you mentioned it.

As sadist king said, I think we all have our own personal set of criteria as to wether we judge someone or not. Poor people judge the rich, rich judge the poor etc.

I think the world would be a much better place if we didn't instantly judge people on their occupation, the way they look, the way they speak, their social standing etc. If we waited until we actually got to know that person a bit better before dismissing them.

I mentioned in the OP that I didn't really know where I was going with this thread. I was just trying turn a thought in to words and see what people said.

I think it's incredibly hard to not be judgmental at all. There's something about the human brain that takes experiences and makes associations about them, which then turn into instant-assumptions inside our heads when we encounter something that's either similar, or just brings about the emotions of said experience. It'd be like trying to stop breathing maybe, if you know what I mean.

I don't think it's "wrong" that as humans, we tend to make such snap assumptive associations inside our heads. It's what we do with them and how we act despite them, that matters more. (edit) I can be extremely annoyed with a "screaming" child - even make assumptions in my head about parenting - there's nothing wrong with that. But if I stand up and start hollering at the parent/child in an abusive matter because I can't handle my annoyance, that's not all right. imo

My personal definition of judgement is making assumptions about people based on your experiences. Its not a positive or a negative, its completely neutral. Dark Knight's example with the screaming kid was actually a good one because he did make a judgement on that child based on his experiences with other screaming children.

There's a small shuttle bus that goes around my town. It starts off in a big parking lot and in order to get out of it you have to go over two speed bumps. One time I rode on that bus with a new driver and he went over the bumps too fast and I nearly fell out of my seat. A week later I took that bus again and it was the same driver. Just before he went over the bumps, I got ready for the massive jump. At that moment I made a judgement that he would go over those bumps a bit too fast again.

This is the automatic response, but we can avoid doing it by, for example: trusting that the new driver has learned to go a bit slower over those bumps. In this case I prefer to be judgemental so I don't fly out of my seat. My point is that generally, the non-judgemental way is the naive way. That's not an insult, just an observation.