NEVER UNDERESTIMATE OTHERS

It is a human tendency to estimate others by their looks. As people are high in the social, educational or political ladder, this tendency increases – may be due to positional arrogance, lack of time to attend to others or prejudice created by the sight of the other.  Many a times it can be misleading and abusive. 

There is a famous story about a couple who, dressed in ordinary, faded dress, went to see the president of Harvard University without prior appointment (I have not checked the authenticity of the story).  

When the couple approached the secretary of the president, she could very well ‘guess’ from their outside appearance that they are just ordinary people and there can be no business for them to do in this prestigious, classy university.  "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away.  They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him.  Without any other choice, the president had to finally yield to their persistence.

The lady told him that they wanted to establish a memorial to their son who had studied in Harvard for one year and died of an accident.  The president underestimated them and said,  "Madam, we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery". "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."  The president who could not believe what they said then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent.

Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded.  The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them,” says Malcom Forbes. It is not the outside that matters; hence be cautious in judging others with your prejudices.