I can't say I have ever heard cat ownership being associated with being an introvert before. I know people who have cats because their apartment buildings don't allow dogs, or they just don't want to walk a dog every day.
Could it be that you aren't actually against labels, but really, it is false assumptions/stereotyping you are truly against?
@GuyverGordon ….Which sometimes results in inaccurate labels. Is that his point? Not sure. Semantics, I suppose.
No one knows what his point is because he's being deliberately vague.
But he hasn't said that what I said was incorrect, so maybe I'm right.
I think I understand where @dennis22554 is coming from. Labels can limit our dimensions of expression.
If for example someone is said to be trans, gay, black, white, etc. People, especially on the internet, might see them as only having certain characteristics, individual personality discluded. Groups may be seen as hive-minded. Or people as NPCs.
Sometimes people parade around with social issues involved with their own group, and others might only see them behind a label and what it represents on that level. When people talk about similar issues, it can be hard for an outsider to see the differences they might have with the group they are a part of or associate with.
The group I see is we are all humans. Broad enough to understand we all have the capacity of love. Hate. Many things. We all poop, fart, cry, have lied. Have childhood trauma. Have gone or will go through loss.
I think Dennis is saying the labels shouldn't limit personality and our own expression of ourselves.
There are black people who love rock and roll; there are black people who love hip hop.
On steam, there was a trans person who hated Dragon Age Veilguard for adding sliders for trans scars and body types A and B, rather than female and male.
@HuggyBear Yeah but being trans, black, white etc is an identity. I wouldn't consider that the same as a label. If there is a judgment or stereotype applied then it's due to the prejudices of the other person, and not necessarily due to the identity that somebody was born into or adopted later in life. I see your point it's just not quite the same to me.
If I'm understanding what @dennis22554 said, the problem is when labels are placed on you by someone else. An example that doesn't involve race/gender type matters is in the police world. In general, police label people as 1) cops, 2) veterans, 3) civilians, and 4) criminals (or "suspects").
I'm pretty sure that most people don't appreciate having the label "suspect" applied to them by police when it happens. I frequently find myself referring to other people as "civilians" in some social situations. Some, particularly college professors, dislike it when I answer their query as to why I refer to them as such. It's not intended to be derogatory, just descriptive after all.
@pmvines I do think Dennis is talking about identities. Or at least the inclusion of identities. But I don't want to put words in his mouth. This is my interpretation of his original post. Along with you, I'd like a clarification of what he means by labels.
Maybe that's the issue? Labels can be seen synonymous with identities in that people form expectations of stereotypical characteristics like they expect the similar ingredients within a bottle of ketchep.
Also, there are forms of self-prejudice. It doesn't always have to involve an "other". We are all capable of limiting beliefs on ourselves as we are of each other.
@pmvines I agree with you and I think @dennis22554 is referring to a judgement that others, often people we don’t know very well, put on us. Assumptions being made about him possibly and it happens to everyone. Commenters here are speculating.
@Huggycatbear This is very true and it is something no one else brought up. Far too often people label themselves a “failure” or “successful” because that is how they see themselves.
@TheFunCartel it's all a muddy lens that we see others and ourselves in! Considerations should be made.
Labels are just adjectives. I'm ok if someone associates an adjective with me that I disagree with. It's life and a huge world. Not everyone is for everyone else. Im good with labels even when I think they are incomplete or even inaccurate. My ex and some of my kids have put some labels on me that I think are completely wrong. However, I respect their right to judge me however they feel. It hurts but my responce to it is that first I look inward to see if their is any validaty to there labels. Perhaps there is something I need to work on. And then after self examination I decide whether or not I can include thier oppinions relavant to my life view.
I tend to think that of labels as a broad term that encompasses identities, categories, beliefs, ...essentially everything that makes us human. Then in attempt to organize , people with similar attributes are placed in labeled groups, what I dislike is when negative attributes are automatically assigned to every member of that group. That in turn can lead to false assumptions that has been evidenced by some of the postings in the thread. There are groups of people with certain labels that will automatically not associate with the members falling under another label due to false assumptions. If you chose to self label to a group that is primarily associated with negative behavior..thats a different story Using a different example..members of gang are often assumed to be associated with criminal behavior..where there are "gangs" that do good for the community. I say take a breath before jumping to conclusions. False assumptions are offensive and can be discriminatory. Every person is unique and should be judged accordingly...thats the experience I have had with pros on CC.....just wish it occurred more often in real life
Kudos to the "you have to love yourself g " post
Just a note addressing some previous postings....I will never publically ..or even privately attack another member on this forum if if what they say is based on a false assumption is offensive......I alwas smile at what I see when I look in the mirror and do my best to treat others with respect ......I truly appreciate the positive remarks and apologize for any confusion I may have caused
@dennis22554 I was reading the other day about heuristics, or the mental shortcuts the brain takes to make decisions. I think that has a lot to do with the whole idea of labeling. It's faster and easier for the brain to say, "This person is that, therefore they are also this" than it is to spend months actually getting to know the person in question. Getting to know someone is a complex process (and online, an impossible one) ... the human mind tends to take the simplest path possible to save time and energy. Not to bring up that whole bear thing again, but most bears aren't going to get hostile unless their cubs are threatened in some way. But people still give them a wide berth, because they are thought of as dangerous, and survival dictates you avoid potential threats instead of waiting to evaluate them.
Another factor is you could have someone who is a pretty decent human being, who also happens to support the idea of "A." But if "A" is also supported by really bad actors, then that person will be seen as standing shoulder to shoulder with them and dismissed accordingly. Makes no difference if they would never associate with those people or espouse some of the things they do ... if you're endorsing something that, say, the American Nazi Party is also endorsing, you're not going to look good.
The cliché, which tends to be very true over time, is: Birds of a Feather Flock Together.
The more accurate, but impolite, way to phrase it is: If you hang out with the pigs in the sty, you WILL get covered in pigsh… er, the mud of pigs.
Honestly, if someone is wearing a hate symbol, or hanging out and having a beer with someone else wearing a hate symbol, I TRUST that label, and I don’t associate with either of them.
Sort of like, if I am in a public place and someone walks in carrying or wearing a gun, I leave. That “label” (the gun) identifies everything that I need to, or care to, know about that person. And it honestly makes no difference to me what other labels they are presenting or displaying.
Because some labels are flavor, but some are warnings.
@WriterGF ......exactly..........self labeling with groups that do bad things not what I was talking about..its when people automatically make bad assumptions..thank you for your persistence in help clarifying the posting
Very well put! I totally agree and always try to treat people individually! 🤗
Getting to know someone is a complex process (and online, an impossible one)
Getting to know someone also requires communication, which requires at least two willing participants. I did ask several times for clarification or examples. All I got was evasions and the occasional answer that was inaccurate at best. It was this, along with how they objected to me using the LGBT label as an example last time they posted this topic, which made me draw the conclusions I did. When one is unable to get more data, one is forced to extrapolate.
But I can say that since I have no idea what labels were being talked about, any judgement I made was done purely by what he said. While I can assume certain labels, that's a result of the judgement rather than the other way around.
Also, a question. I don't think there's any argument that we shouldn't assume negative traits based on labels that are not self-selected. Is it also not OK to assume positive traits based on these labels?
This was a bunch of word soup. I read most but not all of this thread. In general, like I typically do....I agreed with @IronLemon @pmvines and @WriterGF
It feels like the OP posted something vague in a veiled attempt to not say what he wanted to say. And yes, if you are blank I don't trust you or your judgement. Maybe you are not directly a thing, but you support that thing by self identifying with the label.
Saying prejudice and stereotype is bad is like saying mean people suck. Not too many people are going to disagree with that. But boiling that down to just a label is a bit simplistic and warrants clarification and discussion. Some expansion of your point would be helpful, not just the cookie cutter message about how you like to be positive. Im not being adversarial. it's just a public forum and you are posting a lot of responses without really answering anything it's just the same repetition.
There are some people that are never satisfied...I feel sorry for them and sincerely hope they find happiness in life as I have ..still doesn't excuse false assumptions made in public
Coincidentally, the block button is the ultimate label.
I appreciate that because there are very there are more than a few adverserial inviduals..I do my best to make everyone happy...thats not always possible.....with that said..I do truly appreciate.the positive responses I received
You're doing the right thing by not responding to them.
Let them sulk in their own soup.
Listen, everyone is going to live their own lives, but sometimes some folks really really live by being labeled something, or their diagnosis.
It's ok to acknowledge it, but something might be up if that is now WHO they are.
careful or you'll end up labeled as a label hater!
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