Member-only story
No Matter What You Do, People Will Judge You
A man and his wife were traveling with their donkey.
On the first day, they passed through a town, both riding on his back. They heard people whispering: “What a mean couple, putting all that weight on the donkey.”
On the second day, they passed through another town, the man on the donkey, the wife walking beside. They heard people whispering: “What a cruel man, forcing his wife to walk while he rides on the donkey.”
On the third day, they passed through another town, the man walking, the wife on the donkey. They heard people whispering: “What a careless man, letting his wife ride alone on the donkey.”
On the fourth day, they passed through another town, both walking beside the donkey. They heard people whispering: “What a stupid couple, why do they walk if they could ride on the donkey?”
I love this story because it explains one of society’s biggest problems in a nutshell: no matter what you do, people will judge you.
Sometimes, they’ll think highly of you and sometimes, they’ll think you’re stupid. But they’ll always think something. Even if they don’t verbalize it.
That’s not news — we’ve always been subjected to the opinions of our local community — but those communities are getting bigger and bigger.
