Judge a book by it's cover?

You should definitely NOT judge a book by it's cover.

I've been reading books at a college level since the third grade, so I can say I know a thing or two about books. And if one thing is consistent it's that the covers to books are almost always absolute shite. I've noticed that in the last few years that there has been a realization within the publishing houses that cover = marketing = selling the book so they've stepped up a bit in order to make the cover matter. But they're still light years away when compared to the movie theater equation of cool movie poster = interest in movie = ticket sales.

This is the cover to my favorite book:

Sure there's a certain mystique that's brought across here, but it undersells and cheapens the product on a whole. This is my FAVORITE book, so you have to remember that there's gotta be way more going on inside than just the eerie mood that's provided by a creature's foot in the dirt and a green sky behind a farmhouse (which is what's going on even though the perspective is clearly messed up).

So definitely don't judge a book by it's cover.

People however should be judged all the time.

WHAT!?

I know, I know, I'm gonna lose some of you here. But that's okay, we live in a very PC world with many people claiming to not be judgmental who are actually the first to judge. If you're one of those people, you'll probably tune out right about now.

The fact is that people can choose how to present themselves on a daily basis. And there's an idiom here that makes sense, "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it's a duck".

You can apply this to a person because people almost always present themselves as some kind of something. We all desperately want to fit in even when we're trying to be unique and different. We have comfort zones that we all hold onto. Our clothes are like suits of armor that we wear to not only express ourselves but to maintain a level of comfort and protection. We wear things that suit our identities. More often than not, we slam ourselves into the category that we want to be a part of. An emo kid would not want to dress up like a cowboy, and vice-versa. A well dressed suit-loving type (yuppie) would not want to dress like a doucher (sideways hat, sports memorabilia, pink something, baggy pants or low hanging shorts with high socks and visible tats).

Only a geek would wear this shirt. Or know what it means.

So yes, to a certain extent we can judge people by how they present themselves. However, it's not just about clothes. It's simply in how someone presents themselves. How they walk, how they talk, how they act, manners, etc. Sure, now we're getting a little past the covers of the books, but not really. You can see all this in a matter of minutes, sometimes seconds.

I'm quick to criticize douchebags. Hate 'em. But I'm also quick to admit that I love them because they project themselves. By how they dress and act they show me who they are really quick so that I can therefore avoid them.

I mention how they act because they usually act like assholes. Loud and obnoxious or tough and irritable they are almost always obviously uncomfortable with who they are and where they are. Most of them have never been in a fight but some of them have been in many, yet all act like they want to fight at all times. They project this by how they treat other people and how they seem to want to be viewed by the way they posture, pose, and yes, dress. But even a stance, a gesture, the way you position your shoulders can tell other people all sorts of things about you. Especially if you're a douchebag who is clearly projecting.

 

 

 

Douchebags are probably way too easy targets because while they come in various forms they are almost all clearly trying to be something they are not. Usually it's a combination of hard and sexy or sensitive and rugged. 

I'm getting off-topic with the douchebag rant. So let's get back on track (although I smell another article coming).

In just a pose or even a verbal speech pattern one can deduce many things about you. From how you say "hi" to whether you say "hello" or "how are you?" or "how you doin'?" immediately tells us things about you. Do you look people in the eye directly? Are your shoulders hunched? Are you standing firmly in place or are you fidgeting constantly (Pretty Woman reference FTW)?

Now some of you might think that I'm over-analyzing this stuff and that nobody thinks about this when they're meeting people or even seeing people across the room.

Well:

1. I do.

2. Even if you think you don't, your brain is doing it on your behalf with or without you. Later when you have "feelings" about people it's because of the things that maybe you didn't actively notice, but your subconscious did.

Again, how you present yourself with your speech, presence, posture, attitude, clothes, demeanor...it all comes into play. A book is quiet and you have to work at it to understand its story. A person puts it all out there, Hell, even when they aren't putting it all out there, they are. People want to be related to and understood. We want other people to like us and know us. Therefore we present ourselves.

So yes, you can judge a person by their cover.

Yet, you should always stay open-minded on the off-chance your initial judgment is wrong. And that some people are so unique that they don't care what society standards are and like the Yankee's without being a total loser. Maybe they just like the color pink and are really cool?

Those people are rare. Sure, sometimes they will surprise you. But if it walks like a duck...

I am being slightly hypocritical because Beauty and the Beast IS my favorite fairy tale and Disney movie...but still...Gaston was in that movie and he's absolutely a douche from the outset. Actually, now that I think about it, Disney is really good at characterization! They take seconds to tell you what kind of a person a character is by demeanor and dress...learn from that!

Seen too many beauties with beasts to think this fairy tale ain't factual.