Judgment
Most people have heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Many people even try to live their lives this way. The only problem is that as much as people try, deep down, they still judge. It’s one thing to judge someone in your head, but it is much more to speak out loud, letting a person know that you are judging by their outward appearance.
Luc Perrault
Luc Perrault is a bear of a man. He weighs 280-pounds, he is covered with tattoos, he is bald with a goatee, and he has a passion for bikes. He says that he is used to people looking at him and immediately making assumptions. Then he says that he imagines that people look at him and find him a bit scary. He suspects that there are others who think that he is a criminal. He isn’t positive that people feel this way, but he knows it is to be expected based on the way that he looked. There was one day; however, when a woman spoke out loud, saying precisely what she was thinking, and he was infuriated.
The Incident
Luc was out on his bike one day, dressed in his typical dirty bikers’ gear, and he stopped into his local Tim Horton’s for a cup of coffee. When he walked in, there was a young girl standing in line with her mother. The little girl approached him and said hello. Before he could say hi back, her mother quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Luc found her reaction to be a bit strange at first, and what the mother said next explained it all.
A Nasty Statement
For a split second, Luc stood wondering why this woman pulled her daughter away so quickly. Next, he hears the woman say to her daughter, “We don’t talk to dirty bikers.” Luc was in shock. How could this woman judge him when she didn’t know a thing about him? As angry as he was by her statement, he chose not to respond. If he said the words to this woman that he wanted to say, he would have been proving her assumptions about him right. Instead, he chose not to say anything. When he got home, he decided to tell the world what happened.
When Tim got home, he was still angry, and his feelings were hurt. He took to Facebook and posted a powerful message. It started with, “To the family in the red SUV at Tim Horton’s today.” Next, he wrote, “Yes, I am a big 280 lb guy with motorcycles and full of tattoos, I am a welder, I am loud, I drink beer, I swear, and I look like I would eat your soul if you stare at me wrong. What you don’t know is that I have been happily married for 11 years, my kids call me daddy, I am a college graduate, my mother is proud of me and tells me everyday how lucky she is to have such a wonderful son. My nieces and nephews are always happy to see their m’noncl Luc.
When my daughter broke her arm, I cried more than she did. I read books, I help people, I go out of my way to thank war veterans, and I even cried at Armageddon.
The next time I smile and say hi to your little girl and you tell her ‘no dear we don’t talk to dirty bikers’, remember that even though you hurt my feelings, this ‘dirty biker’ would be the first person to run into your burning house and save your little girl’s goldfish so she wouldn’t be sad!!”
Going Viral
Shortly after he created the post, it went viral. People from all over the world were liking, commenting on, and sharing the post. Every one of the comments was supportive. People couldn’t believe that a woman could be so cruel. Some even said that the way that his woman behaved was appalling because she was teaching her daughter to be just as judgmental as she was.
Local News Outlets
When the local news stations caught wind of the viral post, they wanted to interview Luc and his family. During the interview, you could sense the gentleness of this man. While sitting with his loving family, it was evident that everything he wrote in his post was true. He was a genuinely nice guy who just happened to love motorcycles and tattoos.
Did She See?
The mother who judged Luc that day in Tim Horton’s never came forward, but why would she? After the powerful post proving her wrong, why would she want people to know who she was? Since the interview aired on the local news, there is a good chance that she did see it.
A Lesson To Be Learned
Rude mom tells daughter ‘We don’t talk to dirty bikers’ – biker’s response goes viral. Luc says that even if the mother didn’t see his post or his interview on the news, he hopes that others learn from his experience. He says that he hopes that people can use this as a lesson to never judge a book by its cover. He also says that he hopes that his children never have to deal with something like he did.
