* following video was played before the speech
Manifesto by Grace Carapezzi
The eye is a deceiving organ; it uncovers so much beauty in this world then critiques and scrutinizes its discoveries. We as humans have become accustomed to the danger of sight and have let it dictate the patterns of our lives. When looking at others, I believe we are not truly seeing. We subconsciously connect them with groups that we have seen before…only fortifying the hunger to stereotype. We judge without learning stories. We judge off past experiences.
We judge because we as humans are all insecure. We judge others… yet complain about being falsely perceived.
This vicious cycle is one fueled by society. We are too comfortable with this concept of judgment and perception that the idea has manifested itself within our morals and nature.
Overtime we have worked to become content with perceiving others in the way we think they should be labeled, but that trend needs to be reversed!
We can become just as comfortable, within the simplicity of accepting people as they are. I believe we can fight against this urge to quickly form assumptions.
One may argue that perceptions are not always negative. They can serve to the advantage of the judged, but there is really no way of knowing someone, until diving past the exterior into the inviting core of their character. I believe that being falsely perceived is bothersome to everyone in some aspect, but it can change.
I believe skin color and features should not serve as the public’s deciding factor to ethnicity. I believe appearance is an apparatus taken from a toolbox of injustice. Appearance is unfair to us all, especially women. I believe all women are smart and smart women are beautiful. I believe everyone deserves a reputation that they craft for themselves, not a reputation created by the public’s limited knowledge.
I believe we all can reinvent our psyches. It is time to accept the world and its occupiers as they come. This planet would be dull and monotonous if everyone met your specific standards. We need to be our own characters: brilliant, creative, athletic, comical, and diverse. People are going to live this life as them selves, mask free and happy. The question we need to ask ourselves now, is are you going to let them?
Close your eyes and listen to each other’s stories.