RE: Unfortunately, Looks do Matter in Life
I am a trial lawyer with over 150 jury trials to my credit. Your premise is absolutely correct. When in front of a jury panel I have thirty minutes to connect with a room full of strangers. They make decisions about everyone involved based on purely superficial observations. Then, when you add race into this toxic mixture, well you can just imagine the complexity of it all. When I have a client who is unattractive I do what I can to help them. Appropriate dress and improved grooming always helps. For my clients who are racial minorities, half our time is spent trying to ensure we can weed out the racists during jury selection. They are angry people who cannot wait for a chance to get even for all their imagined wrongs done to them by “those people.” I wish I had easy answers and solutions to all this, but I do not. I try to be aware of my own biases so I do not engage in this behavior. My wife and I raised our five children to also have an open mind as they approach the world. Good luck everybody and I wish you well.
It is easier said than done. TV and media perpetuate these stereotypes that ends up dividing us instead of bringing us together.