Humans have this weird obsession with categorizing everything in sight. We have this compulsive need to find patterns in normal, everyday things and then put such observations in neat little boxes so we can reference back to them at a later point.
Sounds pretty tedious, if you ask me...
I mean, sure, it’s been pretty helpful with recognizing poisonous plants or animals that may want to eat you back in the days of the hunter-gatherer and agrarian/pastoral societies. And this ability to categorize and see patterns has led to greater understandings of the world around us, culminating in mathematics and science. Even the languages we use are based upon patterns and organization.
However, this has major drawbacks in the society in which we live in today; rather than applying these labels with the intent of survival, we apply them for the intent of judgment.
All our lives, we’ve grown up with labels, and they’re everywhere – in the store, on our clothes, on our writing utensils, on assorted jams and jellies, and even on each other. We've been socialized with these labels and the concepts justifying them from a very young age, and we, in turn, accept these labels without question, taking it as “common sense.” However, many people don’t realize that because one has these labels placed (or in some cases, thrust) upon them, that doesn’t mean they are the meanings commonly associated with the labels. One’s identity is not dependent on the labels that society deems appropriate to place upon someone.
Or, if you really want to strip it down to basics, “what” you are does not determine who you are.
None of us have chosen these carbon units that we currently reside in. And we can’t change that. We can, however, change the perspective from which these water-laden sacks of bones see. We can control who we are.
This poses a great question – who would we be if this world didn’t have any labels applied towards us? More than likely, a more tolerant one. I don’t need to list any examples of label motivated situations that have culminated in intolerance, hatred, and violence to show why this is true. If you go to any news-bearing media source, you're likely to find one at least one. Conflict comes about from labels, from pitting “us” against “them” and being unable to reconcile these socially perceived differences between the two factions.
Using labels as a shortcut to understanding people is choosing to have a narrow perception of the world; it’s choosing to have filters and blinders preventing us from seeing people as they really are, and only as we think they are. Or rather, what we've been conditioned to think.
But we’re lazy as humans. We like our shortcuts and innovations to make our lives easier. And what easier way to get to know a person than by having society dictate who they are and not have to do any of the work? Certainly, makes the process go a lot faster...
Just keep this in mind, every war in history has begun because of labels.
Inspiration for this article: "I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White." by Prince Ea (the above video); "Carefully Taught" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific; "America" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story
