Originally Posted by
arkansasbob
i think therein lies the problem with your thinking (unless you are going somewhere with this that i am not following so far). things like face tattoos, dreadlocks, and flowered shorts are things that people can easily avoid if they are concerned about being perceived as a professional. there are plenty of people who choose to take the professional risk for the sake of a fashion statement, but it is a choice.
a person can't control the color of their skin, or any other genetic factor, so it is clearly unjust to judge a person on that basis (i'm sure we all unconsciously judge others a little bit based on how much we perceive them to be like us, but as long as we are aware of that innate tendency and are careful, we should be able to avoid doing any harm by it). a person also can't control the culture they grew up in, but they can control what parts of that culture they carry into their professional life. for example, i use a slightly different accent and dialect (mostly unconsciously) when i am at work than i do when i am talking to my friends from back home in arkansas, and i certainly dress differently than i would back home. does that mean that my big-city workplace is biased against rural arkansas culture? probably so. is there anything wrong with that? i don't think so.