The SINAR Principle

I’m a firm believer in the SINAR principle. What is it you might ask. Hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll at least have an idea.
Picture this scenario: “Sue, you’re wanted in the kitchen. The family’s coming, and they’ll be expecting a fine spread.” Sighing and cursing under her breth, Sue drags drudgingly on to the dreaded kichen, the part of the house she hates most of all. But society expects her to be good at it because she’s a woman. Cooking’s not a man’s job. Never mind that there are male chefs that can cook any average cooker under the table. The SINAR principle …

“Mark, what are you doing? You better dry those tears and start acting like a man! I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: Big Boys Don’t Cry!” Guiltily and shamefully, Mark hastily brushes off his tears with the tip of his already-sodden sleeve. Why guiltily and shamefully? Because this simple fact was drummed into his head: “Men mustn’t cry. They must be strong at all times.” In short, they mustn’t be real. I have great respect for a man that can cry. In my opinion, it shows character. The SINAR principle …

“Hey, Mike, I’m going out with Sandy, the hottest babe in school. I feel sorry for you, man, having to be stuck with HER.”
The HER being spoken of is Leonora, a chubbish girl with acne spots.
After the dance the same two boys were comparing notes. “Hey, Rob, how was your date with your gorgeous babe?” “Nah, brother. She was constantly running to the bathroom to spruce up her make-up. I was lucky if I could get in half a dance with her, and even when I did, she was constantly looking around to se who’s watching her.” Mike smiled quietly. He had a great evening with Leonora. It turned out that she was easy and interesting to talk to, not bad on the dance floor, and just generally nice. He smiled because he discovered the SINAR principle.
Now please note: I’m not saying all gorgeous babes are vain snobs, or that all ugly ducklings are angels in disguise. What I am picking at with my sharp and pointy tweezer is the notion that people should be judged from the outside in.
If there is one reason for me to thank God for being blind, it is the fact that I don’t have the “look” bias. I can build my relationships with people on the beuty that is within.
So why is the look bias a bias? Just a stupid example: “Trace, you should see the guy *Jennifer* hangs out with. He looks like a total scummy rubbish!” (Jennifer is a fictitious name)
But when I met Jennifers “guy she hangs out with” he turned out to be a nice guy, no less nice than the average Joe Soap. Maybe if I could see him, I would’ve treated him like a scummy rubbish.

Anyway, enough harping on that, and straight on with the SINAR principle. Could you guess what it is?
SINAR = Society Is Not Always Right.
Now my second note: I’m not saying can society. It is a good thing to have norms and standards to live by. But do some of these norms and standards such as the ones I’ve mentioned above enhance or improve the make-up of a person, his/her values, personality or self-esteem?
Could it be that society is not the evil in this story, but the blind, mindless following of principles that can cause harm, and have no enrichment value?
I wonder …