How do we encourage ourselves to see people as people, withholding judgment, encouraging acceptance, and inclusion? 

I’ll never forget the day my daughter came home and was accused of plagiarism in front of the entire class by a teacher. She asked the teacher what part of her work was not cited properly or paraphrased.

When the teacher showed her, she said, “I am so sorry, but I did not plagiarize.  I forgot to change the font when I transferred the information from my computer notes to the paper.  Those are my words.”  The teacher was unable to find any plagiarism. 

The entire class was witness to my daughter being told she plagiarized her paper.  The truth was only known by the two, the teacher and the accused (three if you include Jesus).  That day, the teacher missed an opportunity to circle back and expose the truth.  The truth that was never investigated and an assumption that was misjudged.

Fast-forward years later, and my daughter still remembers the pain of being accused publicly of something that she hadn’t done.  Yes, privately, there was acknowledgment, which was fine.  But the class was misinformed.  Misjudging happens throughout our lives, but for some, it happens more frequently. 

This all came back to me when I was reading a blog discussing the daily oppression and fear of the Jewish community today, along with many other communities.  The blog highlights how people are hurt daily, many living in fear.  At times intentionally hurt and other times we may be unaware of the pain we cause. 

I see people as people. I don’t easily recognize different cultures, ethnicities, or anything else.  It is not something I have tried to learn because I am more interested in knowing you as a person.  When we learn to live with compassion and love, we see each individual as a person, not as a certain ethnicity or pronoun.

The day that my daughter was accused of plagiarism gave her a glimpse into how people in this world are misjudged.  One might say she was given an opportunity to feel what many people feel daily in their lives. 

I am not trying to compare what happened to her to the judgment people live with daily.  What I am suggesting is that we can gain appreciation for those who are oppressed when we consider the momentary hiccups in our lives and how that makes us feel. 

I make mistakes, but I challenge myself daily to live with love and see others as people, not as their race or ethnicity.  People are people; unity comes with love, trust, compassion, and understanding. 

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