The Watercooler : Lesson: Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

After putting in a hard day’s work at his construction job, a Vancouver, Washington native named Andy Ross decided to take a trip to the grocery store before heading home.

While he was in the store, however, he had an interesting encounter with another mother and her young daughter that was with her — one that he thought he would use to teach everyone a lesson in compassion for others.

The mom told her daughter that he was the reason she should ‘stay in school.’
He explained the story in full detail in a now-deleted Facebook post, per Indy100, and ended it with a list of lessons for all of his friends — and strangers who might see — online.

“As I entered the store before I got home, a little girl kept staring at me. Which is fine. I know that kids are curious when they see someone, especially as dirty as I was,” he wrote in the post.

Kids are naturally curious, and seeing as Ross had just spent an arduous day working his construction job, he was very dirty — like, literal dirt. It’s only natural that the kid would be looking at him and wondering why he was caked with dirt.

“They ended up in front of me as I was checking out,” he continued his story. “Little girl still staring, her mother told her to stop staring. As they finished and headed towards the door, I hear her mom say quietly to the little girl ‘that is why you need to stay in school.’”

He saw this as the perfect time to 'educate' the mother and daughter, posting their conversation.
“First, I happen to be a very educated dirty man. I not only have a high school diploma, I also have a college degree and many medical certifications,” he said, according to Little Things. “So assuming that I am uneducated because of my appearance is actually quite ignorant in itself.”

He explains that if she was referring to the many tattoos on his body, then he believes that stigmatizing his tattoos to her daughter will “suppress her creativity and potentially hinder her imagination.”

He claims that he’s proud of the tattoos that his artist, named “Forrest Bateman,” put on his body — “It’s a representation of my pride in my country and my service over multiple combat tours as a special operations medic.”

Next, he told them that he was the proud co-owner of an outdoor company, and enjoyed working in construction — that “Subsequently, it comes with being dirty some days.”

“I make good money, have benefits, and am able to provide for my family without issue. So my appearance reflects nothing to do with my level of intelligence or pursuing a higher level of education.”

He left them with a “have a good day,” and told them to “try not to judge people before you know anything about them.”