You Don't Look Sick

Many years ago, when I worked at Lowe's, I came in to get my paycheck on a day when I had called in sick.  Rent was due that day, so I had to get my paycheck regardless of how I was feeling.  As she gave me my paycheck, the head cashier said, "You don't look sick."  I do not recall exactly what I said (I was actually sick; I have never called in sick when I was not), but in my head I was thinking, "Do you expect me to pretend to cough and maybe limp or something to convince you?"  I felt nauseous when I got up that morning.  I forget whether I threw up (probably not, because I don't usually throw up even with the flu).  I also had a headache, and I probably had some bowel irritation.  I did not have a cough.  I was not excessively tired.  I did not show any external signs of being sick, so my boss assumed I was lying, and she implied as much with her inappropriate comment.  She was wrong.  I was actually sick.  If I had not had bills due, I would not even have come in to get my paycheck.

People with PTSD, severe anxiety, and a host of other chronic disorders feel the same way I did that day.  Veterans with PTSD are often recommended to get services dogs, who can help them avoid or recover from anxiety attacks better than any human.  People who see them with a service animal often give them dirty looks, because they cannot see any disorder that would justify having a service animal.  Anxiety (which is a common symptom of PTSD, but a disorder in and of itself as well) can be even worse.  A person having a severe anxiety attack should probably not be around other people, however, few employers would consider an anxiety attack a valid reason for calling in sick.  In fact, many employers (especially low end ones like fast food) want evidence of sickness before sending a sick employee home (still feel like McDonald's for your lunch break?).  Here is a news flash: Most diseases and sicknesses do not present obviously visible physical symptoms.

Just because a person does not "look sick" does not mean that they are not sick.  Yes, there are hypochondriacs out there.  As a percentage of the population, they are fairly rare.  Many people lie about being sick to get out of work, and these people should feel ashamed, because they are part of the cause of this discrimination against the truly sick.  That aside though, we would be better off not judging at all.  Christian or not, the Bible gives some very valuable advice when it says we should not judge.  Even if you believe there is no God to punish us for unjust judgments, most judgments of humans made by other humans are totally wrong.  Most poor people are not lazy (in fact, the typical poor person probably works harder than the typical middle class or rich person).  People who are sick or disabled do not usually look sick or disabled.  Black people are not more prone to crime.  Asians are not inherently smarter than everyone else.  Judging in this way is not just morally wrong, it is straight up stupid.  The odds of being wrong are far better than 50%.  Consider this: Our justice system requires a jury of 12 people to make judgments based on substantial evidence and long legal arguments and explanations, and even they still get it wrong sometimes.  If you think you can do better on your own with no evidence or explanation, you are a fool.