Assumptions are things that we hear, see, think, or believe are true about people and situations that we often have little or no evidence to back up. We make assumptions every day of our lives. For example, as a driver on the roads, we assume that other drivers will obey the traffic signals and laws as we are, but that doesn't always happen. When I go through an intersection with a green light, I assume that the traffic perpendicular to me will stop at its red light. Another example of assumptions can be made in relationships. If our partner is quiet and not talking to us, we assume they're mad or upset. This is not always the case, just because they were upset one time and didn't tell you, doesn't mean they're mad every single time they have nothing to say. .
Assumptions can be made by simply hearing someone's name or reading it on a piece of paper. This is almost worse than the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" because you may not have even met this person before. Its ridiculous how much meaning is behind a single name and we didn't even get to choose it ourselves! I never realized before how much people are judged just by the name they go by. Its crazy that two men, one named Tom and one named Kalmar, could be applying for the same job, have the same qualifications, and Tom will get the job just because he sounds "normal." We all fall victim to making assumptions. .
If I answered the phone and a lady said "Hi, I'm Lindsey," my instant thought is she's a white woman, probably blonde, attends a Christian church and lives in the south. Isn't that terrible? I predicted this whole woman's life and all she said was Hi! We all do this. We judge a person by the simplest thing about them! Now, what if Malik had called. I would have thought he was a young black man, in high school, who probably plays football or basketball. .
We also make assumptions based on people's names because we know someone with that name, and we instantly make a connection.
