A man approached me to take a picture of him with his kids. To my annoyance, he was short with his request and insistent in affect, almost to the point of being demanding.
And then he stuttered, and my conception of him was instantly transformed. This was merely the stance he had learned to take when interacting with new people. He was protecting himself.
And what of my annoyance, just a second earlier? Still self-protection.
But this itself was a small flicker of judgment. A fragile kind of knowing.
