The Beggar

“Don’t judge a book by its cover”. A sentence I always heard but didn’t know its importance and significance. However, now it’s a phrase I abide by in my life due to an incident I faced lately. I live in a small neighborhood where everyone knows each other. One day, I heard our neighbors saying that a new family “The Asaadi’s” will move in to our neighborhood. They said that Mr. Fahd Asaadi, the father, is a very wealthy man that owns a well-known company yet very arrogant, conceited and tightfisted. After listening to my neighbors, I wasn’t thrilled or delighted to have them as our new neighbors. A couple of days later, the Asaadi’s moved in to the house next to ours. The next morning while I was watching TV, I heard loud noises that struck me like lightning. Therefore, I went out to check its source. I stood there stoned like a statue, dazed from what I just saw. Mr. Fahd was yelling loudly, humiliating and disrespecting a poor beggar.

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I fully acknowledge that it’s a person’s choice whether to give money to a beggar or not, but it’s not acceptable to shriek at them either. A week later, the Asaadi’s sent a dinner invitation to my family. My parents insisted on me going despite my endless nagging. Conversely, the Asaadi’s were tremendously hospitable, welcoming and amicable contrasting the stereotypes that were said. After dinner, Mr. Fahd talked about the incident that happened with the beggar and apologized for any misunderstanding. He said that he’s the owner of a charity organization and his aim is to help poor, homeless and unprivileged people. He explained that many thieves take advantage of these charities and that the beggar was a burglar he encountered before. His words left me speechless and dumbstruck. I discovered that humans judge a book by its cover and read what they want between selected lines. Therefore, I learnt not to stereotype people based on what others say or misevaluate things without knowing the full story. Hence, always look beneath the surface.