We are often told to never judge a book by its cover. My corollary to that axiom is, “Never judge an intellect by its occupation.”
For several years, I was the dump keeper for a small community in Wisconsin. Recyclable items such as magazines would be brought to the site as well. During periods of inactivity, I would often take the opportunity to read material dropped off by local residents.
One patron arrived with a stack of magazines belonging to her husband, a local professional. When I asked her to set them aside so I could peruse them later, her response was, "Oh ... don't bother ... even I couldn't understand them."
"Even I?" I thought to myself ... “Well, of course...if she couldn't comprehend it, what possible hope was there for the dump keeper (albeit one with a graduate degree from a major state university)?” She had simply assumed, based on my work status, that I must have lacked the intellectual capacity to understand the material. I said nothing, other than to wish the woman a pleasant day.
After the patron left, I scanned the magazines to look for any articles of interest, and soon was reading a fascinating--and understandable--story on high altitude pulmonary edema.
Many times since that incident, I have told the story to illustrate the dangers of stereotyping, and most who have heard it get the point immediately.
I'm Jim Kline, and that's my perspective.