Are you horrified? Do you want to look away?
There was just an ad on TV for a program about a burn victim, missing a large part of her nose. I... am quite freaked out by such things. Why wouldn't I be? I'd never say that to the person, of course, and I don't feel good about not wanting to look at them. But I just don't want to.
I assume I'm not the only one who feels that way. I don't encourage people to shun burn victims or otherwise scarred or malformed people, I just wanted to share how I feel. =/
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Not horrified, but I do feel empathy. If I were face-to-face with this individual, it would take me a moment of looking at their face to know where to look when speaking to them (it appears that they may have some optical function in their left eye). Other than that, the conversation would be whatever the conversation was supposed to be about or whatever it needed to be about (like them asking me directions to the mall). But examining the face of another is a very human thing. We stare at those we consider beautiful and find those moments to be pleasant (even if we're slightly embarrassed when we're caught staring). I see the burns, the scars, but I also see what appear to be patches and transplants. Everyone's face tells a story, this persons story can be hard for some to read or to handle. But it's still a person inside, and beauty is only skin deep. The only way to know who is "in there" is (much like with anyone else, regardless of their face) to talk with them, listen to them, find out if they are cool, or uncool, pleasant or irritating, friendly or unfriendly, bitter or cheerful... and so on. That face may give anyone a moment of "what do I do and where do I look?" but those moments are short especially when you reach the person.