Everybody wants to be part of a group, everybody wants to be accepted in a smaller or larger community and what way of doing so is easier than trying to fit in a certain social category? Be it a businessman, a guitarist or simply a pupil, we all belong in a category. Of course, each differentiates from the others by certain characteristics, wheter it's the clothing style, the level of education or even the musical taste.
Part 2: Labeling
And so we see why it only seems normal for people to judge each other by the general traits of the group the individual belongs in. The only problem that arises is that the other differences between the members of a group are often COMPLETELY neglected. We have become so obsessed with organizing our lives better that we forget there's more to life than just labeling someone and thinking you know what kind of person they are. Do you remember the life-jar analogy? if not, here's a quick explanation...
Let's consider an empty jar. We throw in some big rocks and what do you know, you can't take up all the space inside just with big rocks. You throw in some smaller ones and there is STILL some space left. Hm...what is there to do? Maybe pour in some liquid? Yes, the jar is now full! It's often said life is like that, the big rocks being the important things in our life, the smaller one the less important and the liquid that finally fills up the jar the details we must pay attention to if we want to fully enjoy our life. And I'd say the same thing goes for people.
Of course, we choose our group(s) corresponding to the things we treasure the most in life and that's that only thing people see then they label each other. But a person is not defined ONLY by those! Surely, it's often convenient to judge each other like that, yet we're missing out the small things. The things that truly matter.
P.S.: I know my style might be hard to read, but please bear with me and tell me if I'm so awfully wrong...
Well, on the one hand, there tends to be a reason behind the labels, or else they wouldn't be there in the first place. But on the other hand, it would be ludicrous to put everyone who may fit under a certain label into the same box, as individuality is what separates all of us. That said, if I found someone who may fit into a particular stereotype, I wouldn't automatically assume that they had those characteristics fitting of such a stereotype; but if they did, I wouldn't be overly surprised.
I hate persanality traits. According to wat i do i am a jock, prep, punk. Those are all COMPLETLY DIFFERENT!!! People could say im a poser, i dont care. IM ME!! even as corny as that sounds
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The Insanity of Labeling blog
