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comment by lila
lila  ·  2950 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I'm a _____ (fill in the blank)

I enjoyed your rant. I noticed that the desire to label ourselves can be strong even in the middle of fighting against that very urge. In the end you succumbed and answered:

"I'm the type of person that makes a point of not answering questions".





vile  ·  2950 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's an interesting point. It's probably impossible to go completely label-less. Just by virtue of being part of a society, you're going to acquire labels weather you want to or not. Even as an individual we can unintentionally label ourselves, as you have noted. Though, I think my 'answer' is a bit of a half-answer. Saying "I'm the type of person to _" is a way to give a descriptor of your personality without actually latching on to a label. It's more nebulous, and it lacks the grouping tendency that labels have. You don't see people gathering behind the idea of "we are the type of people to _," but you can look at just about any label and see people attaching themselves to it and forming groups. These groups tend toward homogeneity. The groupthink becomes so loud that any dissenting opinions get drowned out. That's not to say that labels are necessarily bad, but it's important to be careful when using them. It's easy to fall into the trap of "I'm a _, therefore I think this" instead of "this label accurately represents my beliefs on this topic." Labels can be useful tools, but they should be descriptive not prescriptive. I avoid labels because the descriptive capabilities of the labels I could adopt are outweighed by the baggage that those labels carry. The "type of person" descriptor doesn't carry that type of baggage, and I don't have to worry as much about falling into that prescriptive trap.

lila  ·  2949 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Fair enough, you did specify "type of person". Specifying that you relate but are not only a label, that you are a "type of person", is a good way to keep a label from some of its ability to dictate what you are or are seen as. I also agree with your reasoning for not liking labels because they tend towards becoming limiting and exclusive. That is one of the things I like most about travel. The moment I get on a plane or in a car headed somewhere new I feel free from the labels that my friends, family, and acquaintances put on me. I can be almost anyone and I am free to try out new mannerisms, thoughts, and behaviors without anyone raising an eyebrow and saying that I am not acting like myself (not conforming to the labels that they have chosen for me).