I’ve met lawyers who look like the stereotypical, button-up ones you see on TV, and I’ve met ones who look like they work at a gas station.

And that’s why you should never make assumptions about people based on their appearance!

But we know that people do it all the time anyway…

Check out what happened this time in a story from Reddit!

Mom put doctor in his place.

“Back in 2022 my (F, 32 at the time) mother got sick and was bedridden for a month and a half (until she finally agreed to go to the hospital), so I was the one taking care of her.

The only thing she could do was go to the bathroom, every other activity left her out of breath (she had fluid in her lungs and breathing was extremely difficult), so she needed me to help with every other aspect of her daily life.

I was there for everything, while also working (remotely, thankfully).

Technically I am a lawyer but I don’t practice it actively, instead I work as an associate at a law office.

She was pushed to the limit.

Around that time I was working on a big job as a consultant along with my boss, with deadlines coming up which required extra work.

Therefore, while my mother was sick I was quite overworked, running on little sleep, and I generally looked like a mess (this will be relevant later).

One week after my mother got sick she had a doctor over for a house call, along with his assistant.

After the examination the doc spoke to me to give me instructions for my mom’s medication, and after almost every sentence he’d ask me “Do you understand what I’m saying?” looking at me like I was a clueless kid.

Meanwhile, I was trying to process all the information because while he was examining my mother I had been replying to a bunch of emails and my brain was fried, so I didn’t pay much attention to his behavior.

A few days after that first visit, I was rethinking the whole exchange and told my mom “I think that doc was talking to me like I was clueless, there’s no other explanation for why he’d look down on me and keep asking me if I understand”.

Hmmm…

She laughed (good-naturedly) and said “You’re probably right, I’m guessing the fact that you look like you’re in your early 20s, dressed comfortably at home and feeling sleepy and tired made him think you’re just young and stupid”.

Well yeah, it’s not like I’d be wearing a suit at home while caring for my mother and doing housework.

Another 5 weeks went by and my mom called that doctor again. By that time I was looking my absolute worst: I was exhausted and basically running on fumes.

His behavior was even worse, constantly looking down on me and asking me if I understood even the simplest things.

Eventually I got angry so I raised my voice while answering “Yes, I understand!!” He pulled back a little, but by then my mother was also mad at him and wanted to shut him up.

It was time to throw him for a loop!

She got her chance while he was packing up his equipment, saying “It’s a good thing my daughter has been working from home, she’s been able to take great care of me”.

He was surprised and said “Oh, she works?”, and my mother casually said “Yeah, she’s a lawyer.”

We both still remember the totally shocked expression on his and his assistant’s faces, the sight was so worth it!

Needless to say, he didn’t ask me again if I understood what he was saying, not even when I repeated some of his instructions to make sure I remembered correctly (and to test the waters).

Even as he was leaving and I was saying goodbye at the door, he still looked shocked and I enjoyed every second of it!”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person chimed in.

Another individual shared a story.

This Reddit user spoke up.

Another reader weighed in.

The moral of the story is…

Never judge a book by its cover!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.