This morning as I took my morning walk with the pup, I looked up and found myself a few yards away from the wary, evaluating eyes of a coyote. It wasn’t a big one, but still a pretty decent size. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I immediately stopped in my tracks and its stance changed from appraising to calculating. Its head dipped as it looked me up and down through hooded eyes, apparently sizing me and my dog up as a potential threat or prey, I’m not sure which. At first, I was startled and my first impulse was to either defend myself or try to scare it off, but then as our eyes met and I truly looked into its face, I noticed something. The coyote wasn't really interested in me. It being the dog days of summer, the hottest and most uncomfortable time of the season, I think it was getting a little desperate for food and water and had chosen to make an appearance openly during daylight hours. Then I came to a realization.
In this particular moment, that coyote was just as peaceful as my dog. Yes, it would have run away or defended itself had I gone close or attempted anything aggressive, but at that point, any fault would have been on me. It had no reason to approach or attack us so therefore, it didn't. Any perceived threat was entirely in my mind.
And that got me to thinking.
How many times do we find ourselves suspicious, afraid, or even downright hating for no other reason than how they have been represented to us? We see one thing and unthinkingly lump it in with any bad stories we’ve heard about them, creating and continuing an unjustified prejudice. Wouldn’t it be better to judge each situation on its own? Yes, you can argue that precedents get set and stereotypes are often for a reason, but many times, those are minority occurrences with very few repeat occasions that get sensationalized.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t trust our instincts. There will be times when that coyote will attack so I’m not suggesting you turn your back or try to pet it. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that maybe we should stop to look and truly observe individual situations before we pass judgment based on prejudice, stereotype, or gut fear. To partially borrow the phrase, think globally, but judge individually. If we could at least try, I have a feeling our world would be a lot more harmonious.
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