On Perceptions and People

(Written September 26th, 3:09 AM)

On Perceptions and People

One of the most prevalent flaws in humanity is a person’s tendency to judge others by their appearance. It is impossible to truly know someone by mere observation. Assuming that someone is unrespectable or uneducated because of appearance or behavior is unfair. Most people, upon seeing a man dumpster diving, would consider him a vagrant or uneducated bum. Lars Eighner spent many years dumpster diving, and upon closer investigation of him, one would discover that underneath his rough exterior lies a person who has come to realize his place in the world. Lars Eighner’s writing of his experiences dumpster diving recorded in “On Dumpster Diving” paint a picture of a man who is insightful about the objects he finds in dumpsters and understands the significance behind their presence in the trash. Lars Eighner is an ethical man, who has standards and practices that reflect his respect for others and their property. People who would judge Lars by his appearance will most likely never see the humble, reflective, and ethical person who lies underneath. Judging people by their appearances can rob someone from meeting a person who could enrich their life with wisdom and insightful worldviews.

Lars Eighner is a man who has come to accept his position in life. Lars preferred to call himself a “scavenger” rather than a “dumpster diver.” Lars acknowledged the fact that he lived off of other’s waste, as depicted in his writing when he said, “I live from the refuse of others. I am a scavenger. I think it a sound and honorable niche…” A man uncomfortable with his actions would be ashamed of dumpster diving and perhaps refrain from discussing his lifestyle in detail. Lars Eighner felt that he filled a necessary position in society by using the refuse of others. Lars accepted the fact that it would be difficult for him to live a normal lifestyle after scavenging for so long because he had become accustomed to living in a prudent manner, “…Although if I could I would naturally prefer to live the comfortable consumer life, perhaps… as a slightly less wasteful consumer, owing to what I have learned as a scavenger.” Rather than be ashamed of his status as a scavenger, Eighner embraced his lifestyle and became a man richer in knowledge because of it.

While other scavengers may find an item useful to them and think no further than it’s immediate use to them, Lars Eighner couldn’t help but attempt to understand the significance of the object and its origins during his time as a dumpster diver. Upon discovering a paper bag containing items of a sexual nature, Eighner imagined the reasoning behind the bag’s placement in the dumpster, “Occasionally a find tells a story… a partially used compact of birth-control pills, and the torn pieces of a picture of a young man. Clearly she was through with him and planning to give up sex altogether.” Reading about Eighner’s insights in regard to his discoveries helps to establish that Eighner is a contemplating individual. Without these insights into the origins of the items he discovers, Eighner would come across as a less intelligent person. The act of thinking about why something is rather than just accepting its existence reveals an intelligence and insightfulness heretofore unseen in most scavengers.

One way scavengers can obtain food is by making bogus orders to pizza delivery shops and then retrieving the discarded pizza from the shop’s dumpster. Lars Eighner chose to never do such an act, “I never place a bogus order…” Lars ethics are such that he would rather go hungry than defraud a shop of revenue. On the subject of scavenging through a household’s trashcans, “… my strongest reservation about going through individual garbage cans is that this seems to me a very personal kind of invasion to which I would object if I were a householder.” Eighner believes in a person’s right to privacy, even in regards to their garbage. Eighner also tried to avoid drawing conclusions about the people who dump their garbage in the dumpsters he frequents, “I think it would be unethical to do so.” It would be hard to tell that Eighner is an ethical person just by his appearance because appearances cannot tell all that is important about a person.

Thus it is clear that appearances can be deceiving and that making assumptions based on nothing but appearance can lead to a flawed perception of reality. Without reading about Lars Eighner, it becomes difficult to learn about the intricacies of this insightful, ethical, and humble man based on just his appearance. If the people of the world are lacking the knowledge of intelligent people like Lars Eighner, just imagine what else is being ignored due to appearance.