Judging a Book By Its Cover......

Today I took the time to click on a link to the Los Angeles Times where I was able to read about each of the victims of the recent terrorist attack in California. As I first glanced at the group of faces I was hit by the thought that these people represented a cross section of America. How ironic.....how sad.

My first thoughts also included the assumption that the faces on the page represented a variety of ethnic backgrounds. A melting pot of employees. Judging books by their covers.


Reading individual information told me that one woman's family fled Iran when she was 18 to escape persecution, another was from a family that fled Vietnam looking for peace and opportunity. Another emigrated from Mexico more than twenty years ago and put himself through college. And yet another man fled violence and repression in his homeland of Eritrea. Fleeing from around the globe to find a new life in America. And they found it.....and went to school, and married, and started families, and bought homes, and made friends, and worked hard.

Until they were assassinated.

And then I looked at the photograph of the killers....the first one showing them as husband and wife apparently taken at the airport when they came to the US after their wedding. In Muslim garb.....and I admit that I, once again, judged that book by its cover.

I don't want to do that.....I don't want to make assumptions. It's not fair to the millions of peace loving Muslims who live here and represent the true tenants of their faith. But these two faces did not look friendly.....perhaps just because of the anonymity of the photograph.....maybe it was taken from a video and they were not aware they were on camera. They looked stern......I would have thought twice before approaching them. But then I thought about how my own photo might look in a similar situation.....tired from a long flight, not quite home yet. People probably would not find a smile on my face either.

I don't want to judge a book by its cover. I want to know individuals and meet new people and assume the best. That's what I want to do. I hope I can.
 
I read each obituary. Looked at each face.  Took a moment. They deserved my attention.