I'm human and I think you are too. Fuck labels. I'm tired of them
I'm fucking tired of all these fucking labels.
Moments ago, I read that #whitegenocide was a thing in America, and that Donald Trump straight up retweeted from an account that supports this bullshit. Yet another label, added to the list of many, that no doubt some people will seek safety from.
I don't like labels. I support individualism.
I've read in the past that labelling myself as a Human doesn't support the causes of many ostracized and discriminated against groups. It takes the essence away from the cause that they are fighting; that my idea is a good one but it's an idealists fantasy that has no place in the world in the current state that it's in. You only need to watch Fox News for ten minutes to feel the systemic and underlying message of privileged white men in power seeking dominance over others. I'll agree with that. I don't like it, but I'll agree with it.
I don't think that I should stop with my message though. It IS a good one, and the more people I can rally to my cause the better a place I can make the world for the humans that live in it. I truly believe the world is a positive mindset away from an eternally blissful vacation to the paradise of your dreams if only you let it. We're far from it yet because the media wants to keep us angry, in fear, doubting our safety -- it's how they sell their stories. Think, how often do we see good news? This is why I go out of my way to find it rather then let it come to me, which is never.
My idea is when you label people then you fail. Everyone is different in their unique and own way. There is no typical Politically conservative person, neither is there a typical Politically leftist person. You will find that each and every one of us share more in common than we do apart. When you grab a belief and use it as your identity, or other people's then you do the injustice of not getting to know the deeper person that resides in there. There is the person that typically sits on the right of the Political spectrum and has hard-coded beliefs that a welfare state doesn't work, especially when it didn't work for him; not when his Gran needed treatment and no-one would help. The leftist hates this person, but forgets that he fights for the injustices in the world INCLUDING people like that man's Gran who died of cancer untreated. Whichever way you want to swing it, no amount of trying to tell me otherwise, or pigeonholing me into a neat little label will convince me that we don't want the same things.
It's a strange, strange phenomenon that's sweeping the western world right now; people identifying their entire selves by their Political beliefs. I've watched as people refuse to engage in debate or even be friends with someone of opposing ideologies, yet rarely understand that the roots of such beliefs come from a similar background. It's also known to me that a good 90% of voters vote in self interest in some form. My best friend is the Political opposite of me, but I understand his goals are the same.
It doesn't stop there though; we're now seeing gender being used as a label, where men and women alike are identifying themselves to being a certain gender. Sex, race, religion, you name it; we seem to all be rushing towards these ideals at insane speed in an attempt to identify, belong and create a community around these shared labels.
In my honest opinion this is doing far more harm than good.
We run the risk of thinking we are better than others because of the groups we belong to. It happens already; just look at the Klu Klux Klan for example -- and how the fuck can that even be a thing in this day and age? In Britain, we have UKIP, a party that's focused on British Independence and the ousting of foreign nationals, yet we feel it's our privilege to walk anywhere we want to in this world. Our hypocrisy stinks and I hate it.
I'm not against 'identifying,' though. I'm Scottish and proud that I can bring an English town to a standstill as I walk down the town centre on my way to my friends wedding in my Kilt. I love my roots. I love that my accent brings some people to their knees. I enjoy reading that I have a vast cultural heritage spanning across several of the Nordic isles. It's me, it's who I was beforehand and it's what I am now. I love to celebrate difference. Cultural diversity is one of the best gifts humanity gave us; I'd love to smoke a hookah pipe in Morocco, or taste middle eastern breakfast cooking -- this is all amazing to me. I celebrate it all, and I'll never use it against others as a weapon either. I'll never say my roots are better than theirs. It's just, different.
But it's harmful to polarize. You split into two what necessarily need not be split into two. I've always said we're all different shapes, colours, sizes, sexes and beliefs of humans, but at the end of it all we're human. We are stronger united than we'll ever be when we're fractured; fighting against each other in millions of little groups for essentially the same goals. Respect, honesty, love, integrity and all that belonging stuff. You may laugh at what I said but all I see right now in America is Republicans and Libertarians fighting over fake news and the 1%.
Yeah, same thing. It's the illusion of choice.
Essentially we all want to be respected and to belong somewhere. Is it too much to ask for belonging to the beautiful world that we call home? To show your fellow human some love and empathy regardless of their background?
The media tells us that we're different, and that we should fear that difference. I say we're human and we should damn well celebrate our differences. Life is far, far, far too complex to put people in neat little groups. The only one true Universal, 100% thing that you can truly say that everyone else is in this world is human. There are no exceptions to the rule; and it's the only label with no exception to the rule.
Human.
We are all human.
Let's start damn acting like it, huh?
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My vulnerability exposed
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Very well said, my friend. Hey, my roots are Scottish too!
I was born in Canada, both sides of my family originated in Scotland. Last names Hutchison, and on my mother's side Bruce (part of where my username came from). I have never set foot on Scottish soil but would like to.
Thank you - where abouts? :)
We complicate issues that are so simple or simply non-issues. I love the way you simplify reason in your writing. The one major desire for a human is to belong. So in this endeavour we find ourselves in smaller groups of similar chatacteristics, supporting our own forgeting that embracing those different from us brings more diversity and growth with it.
I like that i can learn something and teach another something, help someone, get help . And it doesn't have to matter who they are or who I am. But, we are far from having enough people with this kind of a mindset.
Ps. I was expecting a photo of you in a kilt.
I've learned that the easier you make life then the simpler it appears to be! Yes, it's complex, but if you step back a moment it doesn't need to be :)
As requested:
That is a show stopper right there. :)
We are all human. This needs to be said over and over again, we seem to forget it to often. Thank you for this beautiful contribution.
Thanks man :)
Very interesting thought!
Also, we are all changeable individuals. By putting labels, we are, in a way, stucking people to that changes and inhibiting them from changing. If you call an alcoholic an alcoholic, you are decreasing his changes to quit drinking.
@davidconstantine has written a very interesting article about giving up our ego and personality in order to increase our awareness. It's similar to what you wrote, but more intrinsic-orientated.
That's a good post. My ego was put to bed many years ago :)
Nazi is a pretty useful label. That may sound extreme, but we have actual Nazis in the US right now running over women in the street. I, for one, am tired of the whole “respect everyone’s opinion” platitudes. I do not respect the opinions of those who seek to de-humanize and kill those I love. And it’s not my job nor anyone’s else’s job to try to reason with or understand racists because racism is illogical. It is my job to call a Nazi a Nazi and punch a Nazi if need be. It’s disgusting to me that within a generation and a half we’ve gone from the abhorrence of Nazism to allowing them a platform to speak because “everyone is entitled to their opinion.” Sometimes, labels are useful.
I've never agreed with respect "everyone's" opinion. I mean I guess we're sort-of privileged here in the sense that you get arrested for any kind of Nazism vitriol. I have no idea how extreme opinion like such is allowed the light of day. I just don't :/
I always will blame the media though! - watching 2 seconds of Fox News was enough to make me want to throw up
In the US, our media and government have been destroyed by two things: citizens united and the repeal of the truth in journalism act (I don’t remember the actual name of it, but we can thank Regan for that awesome decision /s) when everything is for sale, society goes to the highest bidder. And because of hundreds of years of white supremacy, old white men are the people with the money. Fox News is a plague on our nation and the world. This is a great discussion. Thanks!
Holy shit. I had no clue you were allowed to be out and out dishonest in the media. I mean I know they enjoy painting a story in a different light, but pure dishonesty. Jeez. I guess that explains why I always want to punch Bill O'reilly square in the nose! Hah
That explains a lot more actually
As long as it’s labeled “opinion “ or “editorial” it’s allowed cuz “freedom of speech” I guess. Shrug.
I think that there is a place for labels, although I agree we should all start acting like decent human beings.
As a white person, my sense is that (some) people who share my skin color think "move past it" just means keeping the past in the past. I disagree with that, we have to deal with the wounds of the past before we can all be on a level playing field and that will take a long time.
I totally agree with you there. As a survivor myself I couldn't have moved forward before I stepped back to embrace the past.
I'm an idealist at heart I'm afraid - I'll never be able to stop viewing the world with rose tinted glasses; seeing the beauty in everything around me. It's my greatest asset, and also my biggest enemy lol
I hear you, I'm much the same way. These rose-tinted glasses are delightful most of the time though <3
Yes, we are in a funny time. A time where we have to acknowledge the differences to get past the differences, because the differences don't matter. Wait, what? Maybe it would be easier to just ignore the differences in the first place. But like you pointed out, easier said than done. Individuals experiencing real discrimination, because of those differences, need to rally together to protect themselves. It's quite the predicament.
I've identified with Secular Humanism for a long time now. It seems to be closer to the final answer we want to get to on the matter of different types of people (i.e, they're all human). But yeah... Such a long way to go before we can entirely do away with the labels.
In a political sense, I think we need them less for sure. I don't care if you're libertarian, conservative, liberal, whatever. Just tell me your argument, and we'll see if it holds water.
I am with you. Labels aren't the final answer.
I agree with what you said.
I'm humanist myself. I think it's definitely what fits nicely within my belief system, I like to love and cherish all types :)
Just as the labels take us to be part of the masses, they also place us limiting and if we internalize them, the consequences are significant
Humans have egos to feed and sometimes capitalise on differences to boost it. Labels are shit and dehumanising. It should stop
brilliant post ,