It’s a simple statement that seldom has any truth to it. Who am I to tell anyone that they aren’t “good” enough or that I am “better” than them? We can all agree that this should never be said by anyone, but the sad thing is that many of us have this thought everyday. 

We all make judgements of people whether we choose to admit it or not. It’s simply not possible to go through life without forming some biases as to who we think are “good” people and who are not. Subconsciously we make decisions based on these biases. We often choose who we interact with based on instinct judgements we make, preventing ourselves from ever getting to know the true character of many people.

Bret Harte addresses this idea in his short story ‘The Outcasts of Poker Flat’. Set in the town of Poker Flat during 1850, Harte follows the lives of four people. When the town loses a large sum of money, a couple horses and a citizen, the townspeople exile a group of four people deemed to be bad. These people consist of poker player John Oakhurst, a drunkard named Uncle Billy and two prostitutes named Mother Shipton and The Duchess. With how prominent gambling and prostitution are in the Wild West, Harte shows the hypocrisy of the townspeople to exile these three people, linking them with Uncle Billy, the drunkard and suspected thief. 

So the four set off on their journey to the next town with hopes of a new beginning, taking with them a horse, a mule, rations and whiskey. The first night the women and Billy drink the alcohol that they have while Oakhurst declines as he does not drink. Early the next morning Oakhurst wakes to find that Billy has left and with him so have the livestock. This is an indication that the townspeople were possibly right about Billy. However, Oakhurst chooses to believe that it is possible that Billy accidentally scared off the animals as he was leaving in the night. Oakhurst’s ability to look past the possibility that Billy stole their horse and mule is the first example of the outcasts showing their true character along the journey, contradicting the belief of the townspeople. In the morning, the three remaining characters realize that they have been surrounded by snow at their campsite. In the cold nights of the winter, survival is a challenge for the group. But more importantly than survival in regards to the story is the decisions they will make to try to help each other, proving the townspeople to be entirely wrong. 

This idea of unfair judgments has transformed greatly from what it once was during the time of Harte’s writing. As we moved through the Women’s rights and civil rights movements we have been fighting towards the same goal as Harte in eliminating unfair judgments. However, as Harte would argue, we are still far from what we need to be. 

Today this problem exists in our everyday lives but it also exists in many large scale issues across the United States. The problem currently exists in our workplace in the form of the wage gap. While we may not necessarily think we discriminate against certain people, it is very apparent that it exists through analysis of the wage gap. 

According to the US Census Bureau from 2017, the average women make less than the average man. While this can be attributed to many things including past events causing our current economic situation, the reality that we are making unfair judgements cannot be overlooked. In our society today, businesses are paying white men an unfair wage compared to the rest of society. We allow our judgements based off of nothing but character determine such an important decision as income. 

Two professors created a study to examine the level of racial discrimination in the labor market. The study was to send in identical resumes to businesses with the exception of the name. Half of the resumes would have a “white sounding name” while the other half would have a “black sounding name.” The study found that the resumes with white sounding names received a 50 percent higher callback than those with black sounding names. This study reinforces the idea that there exists an unfair bias in our country that we need to focus on continuing to eliminate. 

Instead of allowing our biases to influence us, our decisions should be made based on the character and abilities of others. If we are able to give everyone an equal chance we will likely often be surprised. In the short story ‘The Outcasts of Poker Flat’ each of the four characters are given the chance to prove the townspeople wrong. With the excitement present in the story as well as the message of equality along with absence of judgment this is a story that needs to be read by everyone. Whether or not you choose to read this story, I challenge you to think about where you make judgements in your life and to do your best in giving everyone an equal chance. 

Sources

Andy Kiersz, Sonam Sheth. “7 Charts That Show the Glaring Gap between Men and Women’s Salaries in the US.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 Aug. 2019.

Bertrand, Marianne, and Sendhil Mullainathan. 2004. “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination.” The American Economic Review.