A Judgment Call

Judgment is defined as: "the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing." In the essays by Judith Ortiz Cofer, a professor of English at the University of Georgia, Nora Ephron, a reporter for the New York Post and later Senior Editor for Esquire Magazine, and Eric Schlosser a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly are all essays about judgments made in the stories and by the authors who wrote the essays.

In “The Story of my Body” by Judith Ortiz Cofer she tells us how she struggled through her adolescence because a variety of people passed judgment on her physical appearance. Cofer tells us she “was born a white girl in Puerto Rico” but was perceived as “a brown girl” when she moved to the United States. Ms. Coffer states that while growing up in her younger years in Puerto Rico people of mixed race openly discussed the virtues of “white” or “pale” skin. On the island of Puerto Rico, Coffer was appraised as a “paloma blanca” or “la gringa” names that inferred how white she was. In addition, Cofer was assessed as non-athletic due to her physical appearance. Cofer was called “skinny-bones” and the “shrimp” by other kids because of their small stature. To add to her mental anguish, she had a severe case of chicken pox that left her face scarred for life. She first experienced discrimination when a storeowner said “you Puerto Rican kids put your dirty hands on stuff” and “you always look dirty” as he chased her out of his store. Later in high school Ms. Cofer pursued a young boy named Ted who asked her out to a school dance. On the night of the school dance, Ted called saying that his father “had seen how the spics lived - like rats” and decreed that Ted would not go out with Ms. Cofer. In college Ms. Cofer discovered that her intelligence and writing talent were “a constant” in her life while her skin color, height and overall appearance were only temporary judgments placed on her by others.

In the essay “The Boston Photographs” by Nora Ephron, she argues that in her judgment these photographs be published no matter how offensive the subject matter is to the viewer. The decision on whether to publish a particular set of photographs involving life and death is a very personal judgment. Nora Ephorn argues that in her estimation these photos of the falling mother and child had intrinsic value to the events. Ephron states that these pictures must in her judgment be printed because they are breathtaking and clearly illustrated the news. Furthermore, death is as much a part of life as birth and should not be judged as forbidden material. The fire escape slipped off the building fortunately the fireman grasped the rescue ladder but the woman and child fell. Mother and child plunged through the air, the mother fell first and died but the child landed on her mother and survived. Consequently over four hundred newspapers published the photographs the next day. The determination of readers was overwhelmingly negative; “Invading the privacy of death” was one of many like minded letters to the editors nationwide. The opinion of several editors was in support of the photograph’s claiming the pictures showed the dangers of fire escapes” and were therefore a public service. The visceral and negative judgment of the public steams from the fact the woman died a fraction of a second after the last photograph.

Eric Schlosser’s essay “What we Eat” is a chastening of the fast food industry and its negative impact on American life in the last three decades. As a result, this period of explosive fast food growth has culminated in the decline of hourly wages. With the increasing demand for fast food has come a standardization of the fast food kitchen and minimum wage jobs to support the industry. The fast food industry supports 3.5 million workers, the largest group of minimum wage earners. Furthermore, in the author’s judgment the fast-food industry’s efficiency preys on individuality and uniqueness. The result is the franchising of most retail stores, restaurants, hospitals and funeral homes. The genius of a successful franchise is “uniformity” they offer exactly the same service and product in different locations throughout the country. In short, the tentacles of the fast food industry are everywhere; independent farmers “are a truly vanishing breed.” Farmers and cattle ranchers are losing their autonomy and being priced right out of business by large conglomerates. Farm country is losing its middle class and becoming socially stratified creating rural wastelands. In summary, we have an alarming growth of obesity in the United States, judged by Mr. Schlosser as being a direct consequence of fast food.

Ms. Cofer came to realize with age and maturity that her writing and the respect of people, who recognized her as an individual person they cared about, were the only judgments with meaning in her life. In her essay Ms. Ephron discusses the validity of publishing controversial pictures. Ms. Ephron supported publishing the photographs because in her judgment death is part of life and the public deserves the right to see reality. Mr. Schlosser’s judgment is a devastating indictment of the fast food industry in America and on its predatory practices on small businesses and labor. In conclusion judgment is clouded and colored by many diverse reasons and dependent on each person’s experience in life.