The Lines That Divide Us

Dividing LinesWe have all been judged at one point. But if you have ever judged others, particularly if you feel your judgments — no matter how small — were inconsequential or meaningless, you have to watch this video.

My wife shared this video with me yesterday, and I had a hard time trying to stop myself from tearing up. Watch it. Notice how even the toughest and biggest bullies react. It’s quite amazing.

Press “play” to start watching. All I can say is, to all the people I’ve hurt with my words, I’m truly sorry.

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Last 5 Posts By Michel Fortin

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This post was written on Sunday, May 18th, 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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  • Michel,

    Thanks for posting this.

    You're an amazing person (and you're married to an amazing person, too).

    Ray
  • Michael,

    Thank you for posting this video. It's an amazing thing that we are constantly judging and filtering based on the prejudices we have developed over the years.

    Judging can be one the most detrimental things we can do especially for the business people you have on your list.

    How many missed opportunities have we experienced because of judging?

    Not only from a business stand point but from a personal happiness stand point.

    Again thank you for posting this video.

    Here's to Your LifetoSuccess,

    John Clark
    http://www.lifetosuccess.com
  • Jon Weston
    How do I get it to play? Says video is no longer available?
  • Hi M. Marketing is all about relationships and the ability to say I am sorry. Thanks for sharing. Johan
  • @Jon:

    Seems to work here. Perhaps you want to reload? Try reloading your browser...
  • Michel,

    Dang.. That is a powerful video...

    WOW...

    ~Brett
    http://www.FreeTrafficBigProfits.com
  • James Grandstaff
    Thanks Michel.

    I cried like a baby watching that video.

    I will not judge.

    James Grandstaff
  • Thanks for that Michel. It was really moving, especially the part near the end when the adult shared her feelings about her son.

    Unfortunately in today's society, humility is not a popular attitude. When you realize your own iniquities, you cannot help but to ask for forgiveness.

    We have all these wonderful teachings from Christ - "judge not lest you be judged"; "do unto others as you would have done"; "blessed are the poor in spirit[the humble]", just to name a few.

    And yet, still more sadly, following Christ's teachings also is unpopular in society. For my part, I choose to be counter-culture. Thank you Lord.
  • Jay
    Extremely Powerful, and Thank You
  • Tough video to watch when it reminds me of how much of an asshole I was in high school.

    Thanks for posting.

    J-Mo
  • I wish there was a way to have this distributed to every school administrator. often solution efforts are over complicated and the best solutions such as this video are powerful yet simple and do not see enough light of day for exposure where it would do the most good.
  • Michel, what an incredible video! Thanks for sharing it...

    Really puts things in perspective!
  • Low self esteem is a big problem in our society today.

    When you feel bad about yourself, you feel bad about others and this creates a continuous cycle of destruction.

    While there are many causes (we do live in a crazy world), IMO, I feel that parents can have the biggest impact on this.

    When parents spend "a lot of time" with their children, their children seem to be more stable. A parents main job is to instill self confidence in their children, by encouraging them AND setting a good example.

    A more confident person is not as affected by negative criticism by others.

    Many times when a child does something wrong, they hear about it forever, when they do something good, they don't get much attention for it.

    Your child could be the next world leader with the right encouragement from their parents. We are all born with great potential.

    thanks.
  • Thank You Michael for posting this video and reminding us about what is truly important in this life. The people around us and how we treat them.
  • Simply touching...Thanks for posting this....
  • Thanks Michel.
    This needs more global exposure. It should be a seen/practiced in every school system in the world. My kids are growing up in here in Europe and I can tell you it certainly applies here as well..
  • Robert Woodring
    I seem to always have a different viewpoint and can't help wondering if a kid or two stayed where they were at. Would they have been judged?
    I think in all probabilty they would have been.
    My point is this is a type of social engineering and I don't think much will come from it long term.In other words I think a lot of people were bullied into crossing.
    My opinion.
  • rafael
    Thanks Michel.

    Thanks for sharing it...
  • Video reminded me that we as ADULTS need to be conscience of the effect our words and actions have on others.

    Cool video Michael, thanks for sharing.
  • Wow - that hurts my heart.
    I can still remember vividly the assholes that hurt me
    and how I was an asshole that hurt others...
    I now teach my kids everything I was not taught.

    Bless you misseuir Michel (oui oui my spelling stinks)
    ~Lizabath
  • This is so powerful, thanks for sharing it. It really makes you think about the power our words can have. I will try to use my words in a more positive way.
  • Yes, teens are probably the most sensitive to this kind of stuff, especially peer presure to conform to the herd.

    Conforming to the herd is not so cool as they will eventually discover when they find themselves in a few years.

    In the meantime, being fat, skinny, black, honky,4-eyes, homely, poor, unathletic, shy, etc. are us.
  • Barnabas Ng
    thanks michel for sharing.

    this video should be a yardstick for everyone when we deal with anyone.
  • That is a really powerful video and such a reminder of the labels we put upon each other in this life. Thanks for sharing this.
  • I'm so glad I am across this video. I'm going to pass it on to everyone I know. My wife's a teacher so I hope she can show it to the kids in the school.

    I have kids and every parent dreads about their kids being bullied. Hurtful words last a life time, physical ones disappear (can't remember who said that).

    Thanks Michel for sharing this.
  • Traian
    Low self esteem is what pushes people beyond their boundaries. Good and bad are in the eye of the beholder. And to keep it in the context of moneymaking, I bet there are a lot of people who won't make any real money in their lives just because they're feeling "OK".

    Not that there's anything wrong with not making any real money :)
  • This is a very powerful video clip that I wish everyone in the world could see and watch... profound. Thank you.
  • M,thanks for sharing this video. And yes, I am in tears as I send along this thank you. So very impactful.

    Amelia
  • Thanks for sharing this, it's very powerful... it's rare for me to get emotional watching something online, but this did it. Thanks for a humanizing reminder of the lines, and how we should strive to be inclusive not exclusive. Super video, and thoughtful message.

    -k
  • when i saw the video, i'm beginning to think what my clients would think of me as a mentor for them...mike ..thanks for the post here...it's really inspiring
  • Michel, look what you've done - here I am, a 37+ guy, and my eyes welling with uncontrollable tears... got your vid from Jonathan Fields' blog.
    It's too good. Makes one feel the difference between humans and 'lesser' animals. Keep it up bro, the vid's worth much more than money can buy or words can praise.
  • Wow, that was a powerful video. Thanks for sharing it. That would be a good one to show in school classrooms on the first day of class, to get everyone thinking together as a team.

    Mark
  • This is an amazingly powerful video and it made me cry with tears streaming down my face.

    I was teased badly in grade school by boys and it affected my self esteem for years. I never teased others but I can say I stopped being friends with a good friend because people were starting to tease her and I was afraid I'd get teased again (obviously I was not being a good friend). I agree that everyone should see this. I'm going to post it on my blog too.
  • erin
    thank you.
    e*
  • Barbara
    I wish to God they had this program when I was in school. I was the scag, the ugly girl, hopeless, completely awkward from day one, from abusive and neglectful parents to the cruelty of students I had to endure.
  • Barbara
    I am still coping with the anger and the pain, and trying to see myself as successful, and it is the biggest block in trying to get started in copywrite- sales, or successful in anything. If one person had ever had the humility to apologize...
    I have heard too many people also say "that's the past..." but it still needs to be healed and people ought to own up to the pain they have inflicted on others.
    I've said my part, thank you for such a surprising human element on this site. I had just clicked into it for the first time for research into WPS work. I'm glad to see that others are receptive to this clipping, instead of the usual harsh too bad, get over it mentality.
  • Originally Posted By Mark McCullaghUnfortunately in today's society, humility is not a popular attitude. When you realize your own iniquities, you cannot help but to ask for forgiveness.

    We have all these wonderful teachings from Christ - "judge not lest you be judged"; "do unto others as you would have done"; "blessed are the poor in spirit[the humble]", just to name a few...


    Humility is definitely lacking and as a result we tend to become more haughty. And of course you know this usually comes right before a "great and dreadful fall" as the Bible puts it.
  • Judgement is something that's so easy to give away yet so hard to take. May we always learn to put ourselves into others' shoes before we make judgements.
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