Judgement Day

I don't believe it's possible to not judge or categorize someone. At least when you first meet them. It's a first impression and your first reaction to the way another human being presents themselves to you and the world. We make these judgements and create categories or stereotypes based on our up-bringing, culture, values, etc. We are taught at a young age to treat people the way we want to be treated and live with an open mind. To be accepting of all types of people, yet we make these judgements anyway. I don't think we can control these judgements but we can control our actions and even though someone is different from us, we can still treat them with respect. 
In order to make our judgements more fair we must engage with or try to connect on some level with the individual(s) we are judging, and they must do the same for me. This is difficult because some people don't want to make the effort or they make their judgement and can't move past it. I have a friend with numerous tattoos. He has full sleeves, his back, neck and chest all bare tattoos. He recently told me that when he meets new people; especially someone's family he will hear long-sleeve shirts at least for the first couple of meetings. I asked why and he said because first impressions are important and he believed when he met people for the first time they made unfair and false judgements and opinions about him because of the tattoos. He said they assumed he was in to drugs or partying etc. and didn't take life serious. He was hurt by these judgements, especially since he chose his tattoos for personal reasons and wanted to create art. 
It's unfair to make assumptions or discredit others when you know nothing about them. But that's what we often find ourselves doing. We each create an image in life and get along better with those with the same image in mind; with that said it doesn't mean one image is above another or we cannot get along with those who hold a different image. Life is full of people who come and go, and remembering that I feel it's more beneficial to to set aside judgements and get to know someone!