Saturday at last, and the best kind too. Spring is in full swing making the world feel warm, lazy, and all together pleasant. The workweek is finished as are my weekend chores. The day is still young, so I decided to head over to my favorite coffeeshop. I like to sit on the patio, do some reading, think a little, and people watch. With my left hand I am holding my page saved while with my right I lift my coffee up for a drink. Sip. Aaaah. Iced caramel Macchiato, perfect.
Out the window pedestrians pass. Some are rushing off to some unknown destination, others are doing some light shopping, even others seem to be enjoying the warm Saturday like I am. I am near enough to hear the cars passing by which gives the general environment a pleasant hum which actually goes well with the coffee shop rock playing. I can’t quite tell what song is playing, but it sounds like its from the early twenty-tens. My mind must have wandered because a car honking startles me. When my eyes refocus I see two men walking toward each other on the sidewalk outside the shop.
The man on my left has long hair pulled into a loose bun. While the majority of his hair is still held, there are plenty of strands tumbling out. he’s wearing a fitted button up shirt with it unbuttoned to create a very low V-neck. He has wide brim glasses that may or may not be used to improve eyesight. To complete his ensemble, he has skinny jeans and dress boots. A coffee cup with what looks like a sarcastic sticker on it is in his right hand. After looking at him for a second my eyes shift over to the mac approaching him.
This man could not have been more of a complete opposite. The first guy looked like a skinny city boy, but this man was a solidly built country boy. His hair was cut short with a camo ball cap resting on his head. He has a plain shirt on and worn fitted blue jeans. He also had used cowboy boots that had definitely seen some use.
The way they were approaching almost seemed like they were about to confront each other, but at what seemed to be the last second, they slightly shifted to allow more room for the other and continued on by. A quick glance and the encounter was over. It was both a weird moment and a completely boring one.
The reason why I am telling this story is to make a point. A round about one, but one non the less. The two men I just described represent the two main concepts of masculinity. The one on the left represents one ideal while the one on the right another. The interesting thing about it thought, is that I cannot say which ideal belongs to whom. This is because our perception of the person depends on our internal biases.
I grew up near Los Angeles. I lived there during my formative years of high school and college. Because of where I grew up, I tend to have a lean toward the skater, punk, or hipster looks. On the flipside, I tend to not look as favorably on those who dress redneck.
All too often we treat people based on our first impressions which usually comes from the way a person presents themselves. We look at how someone is dressed, and we assume things about them. Take our hipster friend for a second. We could assume that he spends too much time and money on how he looks. Based on that idea we could take it a step further and say that he probably is weak, isn’t the best worker, has never done a hard day’s work in his life, and lets women walk all over him. Or we could say that he is well dressed and put together, meaning that he is organized and disciplined. He most likely has a professional white-collar job.
Similarly, we could do the same experiment with our country boy. Based on his clothing we could either say that he is a hard worker who isn’t afraid to get dirty or he doesn’t care for his stuff which is why they are tattered. He could either be a skilled trade-worker or an unread redneck. As for his love life, he could be a family man or misogynistic abuser. As you can see, first impressions can say quite a bit, and half of it depends on our stereotypes.
Foster A... 
One response to “Warrior, Poet, Priest Part 1”
Fab
Great descriptive writing that encourages the reader to reflect on how we perceive and judge others based on appearances. The encounter between the two men on the street is an interesting analogy for the concept of masculinity, and the author’s personal biases and perceptions add depth to the piece.
Reilly
AiRiches.Online
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