Oops! Now you changed it from people looking like trash to people being (are) trash. The first is an evaluation of outward appearance, the second is a judgment on the intrinsic worthiness of people. I'm sure they are one and the same to you, but to the rest of us, the difference couldn't be greater.
That is probably the most intelligent post in this thread so far. This, I can work with....
If you go back to the beginning you will see that I have not changed anything. I've maintained that trashy is as trashy does. You are correct to note that what one projects is not necessarily equivalent to a person's "inner quality," if you will. But on the other hand, a person's outward behavior is typically a reflection of their inner character.
I think most people tend to consider a person's inner character as a static thing, and society as a whole certainly leans more in favor of that belief. Is it not normal for people to see past behavior as being a strong indicator of future behavior? If you know someone who has a history of excessive gambling and despite reforming their ways they have recently been made multiple requests of you to borrow petty amounts of money, would you not wonder if they've perhaps fallen off the wagon? Modern business practices have begun to focus much more heavily on an intrinsic view of employees and employment candidates, hence the surging popularity of the behavioral job interview and the nearly ubiquitous personality/talent assessments that more and more companies are using to pre-screen applicants and to evaluate their potential and qualifications for growth. In a more personal example, if a lover cheats on you, would you not lose trust in that person? Doesn't their behavior indicate something about the quality of their character? Isn't the act of losing trust a judgement about their intrinsic character; one based on their outward behavior, and including an expectation that said intrinsic character has a strong likelihood of re-creating similar future behavior?
I tend to take a somewhat different view in that I see intrinsic value to be much more flexible, and even malleable to a certain extent. A person can be dishonest and conniving one day, but a model of honesty the next day. A person's intrinsic value can change from day to day. If a person is a model of honest today, does that chance the fact that they were a dishonest person the day before? No, it does not. Neither assessment is wrong. Both are correct in their moment of time. In the long term, intrinsic value can also be assessed
overall based on the behavioral trends. A person can be
generally an honest person even though they've had times when they've been very dishonest. A person can be an overall kind and gentle person even if they've had times when they've been cruel and mean spirited.
We all have our demons, nobody is perfect. But that doesn't mean that a person is evil just because they've made some poor choices at some point. Speaking of choices, that's what it all comes down to at the end of the day. Whatever interior character a person has, all behavior is a decision. Your intrinsic qualities can influence your decisions, but they do not control them. You are always in control of your decisions. I believe that there is a chicken-and-egg reinforcement relationship between inner character and behavior. Good character influences you to make more good decisions. Bad character influences you to make more bad decisions. But we also have the ability to take conscious control and made decisions in spite of that influence. Start getting into the habit of making the kinds of better decisions that reflect a higher quality of character, and your inner character will grow to absorb those qualities.
So yes, intrinsic value is different than outward behavior. But the two have a very close relationship, and we as individuals have the ability to utilize that connection.