K. Banks

Why do we label? Why do we consistently seek to segregate ourselves from the rest of humanity by categorizing one another every chance we get?

Black, White, Latin-American, African-American, Pacific Islander… Gay, Straight, Bi, Trans… Female, Male… We use labels to differentiate every aspect of “who” we are, how we feel, what we believe, where we come from, as though these labels could define us…or them; explain why we, or someone else, isn’t like the rest of society—Hyperactive, Depressive, Bipolar, Normal…White Trash, Rich, Ghetto, Middle-class…Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist…Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, Independent…Feminist, Chauvinist…Illegal Alien, Immigrant… so many labels. And good, bad, or indifferent they serve the same purpose—to differentiate.

What would a world without labels look like? Can you image a place so free that borders don’t even exist in our speech, let alone our world.

Every time we create a label, we separate. Any chance of being a “We” is lost to an “Us” and a “Them”. And everybody is guilty of it, even the well-intentioned people; separating each group out into perfect little boxes, hoping to give every individual their fair share, shot, voice…

Yet, it is separation that is the root cause of intolerance and division.

In fact, this terminal uniqueness is a self-created plague more dangerous than any physical illness. This demand to be accepted, or hated for that matter, for our imagined differences at any cost, is the very mindset that causes separation. It is a paradox—the very act of fighting to be viewed for one’s individuality does NOT free a person, it actually imprisons that person in a box…all alone, in an estranged group, with their super special specialness.

And we wonder why we suffer—especially in America—from so many forms of mental disorders, from so many prejudices, from so much hate, and crime, and abuse, and neglect…

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

The truth that people fail to see, is that while we are amazingly different, we are all exactly the same, and these trivialities that make us different are simply the distractions of small minds.

We suffer from a social dis-ease. A domestication called Freedom, that has been watered down and misinterpreted to take the shape of something that sounds like rights, but actually creates the opposite of rights.

The reality is:

More rights do not equal more freedom, they equal less.

More laws do not equal more protection, they equal less.

More labels, with more precise definitions do not equal equality, they equal less.

I know there is an urge to argue against this, but look at our society and think about it for a moment. Instead of looking for all the reasons this statement could be wrong, just for a moment, entertain the idea that it is correct.

When this country (America) began, only White Men had the right to vote (now wait, before you snap your mind shut, remember this is not an attack, it is not a feminist or racial apology, it is simply an illustration of the paradox of freedom, which will eventually flow back to the problem of labels) eventually, things changed, the word Freedom was reassessed and our practices were reassessed, and all Men regardless of color were allowed the right to vote. “Wonderful!” we said. “Freedom!” we said. But wait, what about Women? And so that changed too… And we stood back and we said, “There, now we have Freedom!”

But that wasn’t true, was it? The right to vote, did not equal Freedom. We know the story; we’ve been taught the history; we live the doublethink everyday; believing the spoon-fed indoctrination, while the prejudices still exist and the ridiculous inequalities are still practiced.

Layer after layer of “laws” have been enacted to protect the “freedoms” of the “disenfranchised,” and with every new law, a strange outcome occurs, more and more “disenfranchised” people are created—not less; more and more people are feeling victimized—not less; more are more people claim to be denied freedom—Not Less

Why?

Because Freedom like everything else, is a paradox.

More rights did not equal more freedom.

Instead, it simply expanded the little box that freedom was, to include a few other people. Regardless of how big that box gets, the truth remains, the label we know as Freedom, is paradoxically limited.

More laws did not equal more protection.

Cicero once said: more laws, less justice. This is a statement that in and of itself has as many interpretations as there are opinions to be had, but ultimately it speaks to another paradox, the paradox of laws. The laws created above offered the illusion of protection, but the reality we know is that Women and Men of Color, especially Black, did not enjoy a sudden change of status or treatment due to these laws. In fact, while today even the young are firm believers that we enjoy unprecedented equality and freedom in the US, many still feel the pain of discrimination regardless of “laws” (again, don’t mistake this for a racial or gender-based argument; objectively speaking news is still flooded with these topics). What’s more, this illusory notion of freedom and equality has an interesting backlash that because there are laws and consequences for actions, it is now assumed that those individuals/groups who suffer, suffer of their own accord; or even better, are accused of abusing the system by “pulling the race card” or the “gender card.” And even more interesting, those individuals who suffer will rarely invoke these protections because they fear this backlash. Thus, most people in these positions chose to remain quiet, because while a law may be present to “protect” them, oftentimes justice cannot be had. There is no denying this point in light of the plethora of allegations made by women who have tried to navigate the biased waters of society and have been subjected to rape, harassment, misconduct, and ostracism. The same can be said for Men of Color, who although only make up a portion of the 32% American minority population, account for over 56% of the prison population. But again, it’s either their own fault or the race card’s fault, right?

And finally, more labels, with more precise definitions, did not equal equality.

Instead, for all the well-intentioned people who fought for rights, and freedoms, and laws, the more labels and definitions we heaped one upon the next, did not and has not provided more equality. By now, this point need not be argued, because the proof of how we live today, and the history we have all witnessed, should serve as evidence enough that just because every word is spelled out it the proper legal, political, social jargon of the time, someone somewhere will inevitably not fit under the umbrella and will therefore be the victim of marginalization, and thus, not equal.

But don’t worry, because another Supreme Court hearing will occur, where more and more people will fight for the right to be recognized and protected, and the case will actually be ARGUED, as though such a thing can even still be questioned.

And therein lies the problem with labels.  

The problem we have today is not with Freedom, or rights, or equality. The problem is one of labels. No human in this country, or on this planet for that matter, will enjoy any of these natural rights until we eliminate the labels all together.

The problem is with our words,

which begets the US v THEM mentality,

which leads to anger, resentment, and ostracization,

and ends in separation.

Our collective thinking as human beings needs to change. We are chasing our tails, and troubling ourselves with trifles. With the power we have as human beings, we could change the world, we could conquer every devastation that threatens us, but instead we waste our power on meaningless distractions.

NOTE:

For some reason reading something isn’t enough, because even though something appears to be clear, people will inevitably put their own spin on it. So what’s the point here? What does it all boil down to? After all, this isn’t a Proposition to vote on, which is meant to confuse you so you cannot possibly make an informed decision…

BIG IDEA:

The time for labels is over. It may have been needed at one time, but that time has passed. We have evolved, have we not?

Therefore, stop referring to yourself or others as a label.

That means no calling yourself by the name of a religion, a sexuality, a gender, a race, a color, a status, an anything!

And no calling anyone else any of those things.

No more checking boxes of what you are on questionnaires.

No more identifying with one particular group—instead, trying belonging to the HUMAN group and treating everyone else you meet like they are from the SAME group.

No more sneering at differences (that means, no more JUDGMENT)—instead, try smiling when you come across someone new.

Try this. For one day. BE FREE.

And if you cannot do this, ask yourself why. What are you losing by being human?