We spend so much time and energy labeling. I'm not necessarily talking about the outrageous labels that our society insists exist on all sorts of products, though those have gone right on over the top, too. I'm talking about how we label each other and ourselves and places and all parts of Earth.
We got stuck in the evolutionary "Us and Them, I think. I suppose it was necessary for our ancestors to distinguish between people of their clan and those of another in order to stay safe. I guess it's important (though I'm not entirely sold on this notion) that different sports teams be able to tell who the other team is. But really, labels aren't nearly as needed as we tend to believe.
True, it takes some time and understanding to get beyond labels, but I think it's worth it. We get an idea that terrorists are Muslim. Muslim's wear funny head dress. So people with funny head dress must be terrorists. In that bit of non-logic many misuses of labelling are evident.
1. Muslim. What does that mean to you? What does it mean to my friends Junaid and Zoya? I can guarantee you, there are three different answers there.
2. Funny head dress? Sikhs have been attacked in this country because they wear turbans. Sikhs aren't Muslim, and in fact are about as far from terrorists as one could get. I wore a hijab around my deep South community and received jeers from some young men in a pick up truck at a traffic light. (I caught myself. I was about to label those young men). Funny head dress, indeed. I reckon a few generations ago there were people who believed that yamulkes were worn to cover horns. Maybe it's hats that scare us.
3. Terrorist. I know there are terrorists because sometimes I feel terrorized. However, my terror stems largely from my government.
When we say Black and White and are referring to people, we are throwing gasoline on a pile of burning leaves. Black and white are opposites AND they don't apply to people. We are all shades of brown. Sure, it takes longer to say, "chocolate," or "latte," or "ecru" but it is more accurate. And God help me if we have to start guessing and saying German-American or Italian-American or African-American all the time. How accurate is it and so what the heck anyway? American should be enough.
I began thinking about "race" again on the plane to India. The young man sitting next to me was Brazilian. He looked Indian to me. Same heavy, shiny black hair and medium brown skin, dark eyes - very handsome. He told me that I looked European. I asked him what that meant and he told me I had a long face. I've never been told that before. Across the aisle was a man who appeared "Asian." By that, I guess I mean he could have been Chinese or Japanese or Vietnamese. Mostly his face was covered by a blanket as he attempted to sleep the entire way. Then I realized that people from India (who look like the Brazilian) are referred to as "Asian." Oh, I got so confused, that I just gave up.
Maybe it's because I am an American mutt that I get confused by race labels. Color labels are complicated enough, but how is Jewish a race? And Indians, like Americans, come in all shades of brown.
When I leave the race blank empty on forms (which is something I always do) bureaucrats get ticked. The lady at the driver license examination station glared at me and put a big W in the space. I reckon that stood for Whatever.
It's not only our color that we have an overwhelming urge to label, it's our age. Are we young, middle-aged, adults or maybe even seniors? And does it matter? Does the way you treat me revolve around how many times this body has been around the sun? Oh, I hope not.
We label dialects, accents, noses, hair, wealth, and hair spray. We just love to label. I don't think we could communicate without using the shorthand of labels, but I think we would all do well to be aware of the labeling we do.
Try this exercise. Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and behold all the beautiful people around you while trying not to use labels. Let me know how that works for you.
We got stuck in the evolutionary "Us and Them, I think. I suppose it was necessary for our ancestors to distinguish between people of their clan and those of another in order to stay safe. I guess it's important (though I'm not entirely sold on this notion) that different sports teams be able to tell who the other team is. But really, labels aren't nearly as needed as we tend to believe.
True, it takes some time and understanding to get beyond labels, but I think it's worth it. We get an idea that terrorists are Muslim. Muslim's wear funny head dress. So people with funny head dress must be terrorists. In that bit of non-logic many misuses of labelling are evident.
1. Muslim. What does that mean to you? What does it mean to my friends Junaid and Zoya? I can guarantee you, there are three different answers there.
2. Funny head dress? Sikhs have been attacked in this country because they wear turbans. Sikhs aren't Muslim, and in fact are about as far from terrorists as one could get. I wore a hijab around my deep South community and received jeers from some young men in a pick up truck at a traffic light. (I caught myself. I was about to label those young men). Funny head dress, indeed. I reckon a few generations ago there were people who believed that yamulkes were worn to cover horns. Maybe it's hats that scare us.
3. Terrorist. I know there are terrorists because sometimes I feel terrorized. However, my terror stems largely from my government.
When we say Black and White and are referring to people, we are throwing gasoline on a pile of burning leaves. Black and white are opposites AND they don't apply to people. We are all shades of brown. Sure, it takes longer to say, "chocolate," or "latte," or "ecru" but it is more accurate. And God help me if we have to start guessing and saying German-American or Italian-American or African-American all the time. How accurate is it and so what the heck anyway? American should be enough.
I began thinking about "race" again on the plane to India. The young man sitting next to me was Brazilian. He looked Indian to me. Same heavy, shiny black hair and medium brown skin, dark eyes - very handsome. He told me that I looked European. I asked him what that meant and he told me I had a long face. I've never been told that before. Across the aisle was a man who appeared "Asian." By that, I guess I mean he could have been Chinese or Japanese or Vietnamese. Mostly his face was covered by a blanket as he attempted to sleep the entire way. Then I realized that people from India (who look like the Brazilian) are referred to as "Asian." Oh, I got so confused, that I just gave up.
Maybe it's because I am an American mutt that I get confused by race labels. Color labels are complicated enough, but how is Jewish a race? And Indians, like Americans, come in all shades of brown.
When I leave the race blank empty on forms (which is something I always do) bureaucrats get ticked. The lady at the driver license examination station glared at me and put a big W in the space. I reckon that stood for Whatever.
It's not only our color that we have an overwhelming urge to label, it's our age. Are we young, middle-aged, adults or maybe even seniors? And does it matter? Does the way you treat me revolve around how many times this body has been around the sun? Oh, I hope not.
We label dialects, accents, noses, hair, wealth, and hair spray. We just love to label. I don't think we could communicate without using the shorthand of labels, but I think we would all do well to be aware of the labeling we do.
Try this exercise. Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and behold all the beautiful people around you while trying not to use labels. Let me know how that works for you.
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