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Have I mentioned that I hate labels? I know that sometimes they are necessary – who wants to buy tins of food with no knowledge of the contents – but need we apply them to people?
So many things in life we decided upon by positive emotion, by consideration or by experience. We taste something that we do not like and thus ‘label’ that thing as disagreeable. We have experienced. Observation of nature in the wild leads us to be enraptured by the beauty. We allocate that label by experience and emotion. Plunging our hands into fire is labelled as unwise and foolish. Consideration of the outcome of such action over-rides the need to experience the fire.
In all these things our labels are allocated rationally and usually sensitively. Why then must we same rational and sensitive humans label our fellow beings not with positive emotion, consideration or experience? Why is it that so often negative emotions like hatred, fear or ignorance allows us to label others before we’ve tried experience or consideration? What is it about people that we can’t accept, or reject, based on our own experience of them? Why do we allow our ignorance of others to determine how we think about them? How is it right to group people and then label whole groups?
As rational, thinking individuals we allow ourselves to be directed by mass hysteria; by that which we are told, unquestioningly. There are times though that perhaps we doubt the labels we’ve applied so we seek justification. At those times we look for indications that our fears are grounded, that our ignorance is acceptable and that the labels we’ve applied are therefore valid. We take one example that we observe within a group, or are told about and use that to justify our labelling of the whole group. Additional examples, no matter how few there are, serve only to reinforce our justification. Yet, when individually we are labelled; when as a single person we are tainted and labelled by the actions of others within our group, we rail against such a practice. Then we strive to distance ourselves from the very practices we engage in ourselves, blind to our hypocrisy.
There is though, a darker form of labelling, one more insidious due to its source. That is the labelling we apply to each other within groups. We so easily label those outside with little conscience or concern, but such actions can be argued as the actions of those ill-informed or uneducated. When we turn upon those within the groups we ourselves have created our labelling becomes more dangerous and toxic for it is these same people that we label adversely that we should be supportive of or seek support from. Instead we create classes of sub-labels. We thus fall prey to the exact disease that we accuse others of. We label ourselves, and by those actions we also condemn ourselves.
For mine, I choose to interpret labels that others apply to me using my own knowledge and experience. Where I lack either I will seek to overcome the dearth and thus at least feel that my rejection or acceptance is based not purely on emotion, be that positive or negative. Like an unwanted gift, if I choose not to accept a label applied to me then I can do that. It’s not a perfect solution but if it helps me to be a fairer and more tolerant human being then it’s a startl
Of course, that doesn’t mean that those labels don’t still appear to others.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate labels?
Jane,
Tell us how you r really feel. Stop sugar coating...(only kidding)
I couldn't agree more. I try not to label, but do on a rare occasion find that i still do. I think being a CD that is and has been labeled i am much more sensitive to the notion of labels and their stigma. I try not to label any one or group and look at the individual as i hope others will do of me.
I see the world changing especially my children generation and even though we are still a long way off i do have hope for the future. Just not sure how far ahead that further will be. Certainly not in my lifetime.
Hugs
Heather
Sweetly , labels are for clothes 🙆 I agree that language is very powerful . The difference between the right and wrong word , to people is the difference between lighting and a lightning bug . ⚡️ Intention is always important and the tone of how things are said . Everyone is sensitive to unkind remarks . We can humiliate unconsciously ourselves by our choice of how we dis ribs ourselves to others and the " labels" we carry with us . Really I always tear labels off , myself , and the clothes I wear , I refuse to carry anything or wear anything that has a label . My wife buys me Chanel and Dior fashions that I cut the labels off . Even , my purses and bags will not be labeled . If you find value in yourself and other people for who there character that is all you need . I was first afraid when my wife told me about this site that their might be ladies who want to feel humiliated or degraded , and that would totally be for someone else , not me . I never make judgements of people , I am always polite kind and nice to everyone . If people are rude , I just say have a lovely day and leave ! I never ever respond back or feed other people's negativity , I never defend myself or my friends , I just say it is time to put on another channel . I choose to think of attitude like perfume , I love Paris , it is lovely and smells like Roses . I tell myself my smile and my attitude are the perfume I put on when I go out. YOU MAY NOT HAVE A TAIL LIKE A PUPPY DOG TO WAG BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS SMILE 😀 Every day is a chance to start over , and spread love around , because it is no good if you do not spread it around ! You ought to go on YouTube and look up Slavoj Zizek and check out the movies he made , and Zizek's philosophy about language and how labels effect our thinking , and subconsciously effect everyone .
Exactly so Karyn, labels effect our thinking and they effect everyone. Well said.
It's sad to see that, even after all this time, people still want to label themselves.
My sadness now, though, stems from how many of our members feel a need to do so with demeaning and offensive names.
It confuses me.
I recall reading or learning somewhere - maybe in some college class that I've mostly forgotten after all these years - that we put labels on people because human beings have a need to separate everybody into categories of "my tribe" and "everybody else." Way, way back this was important for our survival; it allowed our nomadic ancestors to share the hunter-gatherer tasks with others from "their tribe" so that those who were sick or injured could continue to survive. However if those groups got too large, it became a liability instead of benefit, because there wouldn't be enough to go around.
Or something basically like that, anyway. Of course, we're no longer nomadic hunter-gatherers, but our minds still want to classify everybody else into "us" or "them" categories, and so we develop labels - many of which are agreed upon, even if only implicitly, by society in general, even if certain individuals within society opt to reject the labels.
I'm not a fan of labels, because they serve to divide us rather than bring us together.
