Labeling People Ain't Cool

Labels here. Labels there. Labels everywhere. Duck, there's another label.

Our social and political discourse often operates at the level of labels. With much data or very little, people find it convenient and effective to label others.

How often do you see people resort on social media to, "Well, you're just a..."

Sometimes, it's accompanied by disdainful adjectives. How often have you done it?

I'm sure you'd agree that you are very complex being. Sure, you have your flaws, but you believe you're a decent person with good motives.

When someone comes along and tries to sum up your life experience, feelings, and the complexities of you in a single pejorative word or phrase, you're rightly offended.

"Hey," you're thinking to yourself or typing back furiously, "I'm a lot more than that. You cannot define me like or box me into that corner."

You'd be right. NO human being can be summed up by one statement, one moment, or one word. We are, every single one of us, a mix of competing feelings and thoughts that amalgamate into this self we present to the world.

So, why do we do it? It's easy. it scores points in a debate. It fills the void when our idea has run out of steam and we don't know what else to say. It puts an exclamation point our dismantling of their stupid argument.It feels good in kind of an icky way.

Soren Kierkegaard said, "You label me, you negate me."

I've coined many quotes over the years on this topic. My favorite is this:

If you can fully understand why you can never be defined by a label, you will understand why no one else can either.

Labels just ain't cool. They're sloppy thinking. They block dialogue and solutions.

Think before you label. Soon you can no longer see the person.