"Labels are meant to be used as easy references not as terminologies to cling to or become reliant upon" - Raven Digitalis Labels can be helpful but also harmful if under the proper lens. Nutritional labels are obviously incredibly helpful I'm referring to the labels we apply to people. When I hear "geek" I think: Steve Urkel; when I hear "robber": the McDonald's Hamburglar. Obviously every geek does not resemble Steve Urkel nor does every criminal look like that creepy fast food mascot. I turn from my imagination to the real world and see these labels can't accurately capture people before me. Why keep these clearly inaccurate labels in my mind then? Well, because they bring with them a frame of reference, a starting point from which I can begin to get an idea of how to approach someone. If someone says to me, "I'm a total Disney nerd", then I assume they have seen everything is the studio cannon. Then I discover they have never seen Brother Bear (totally calling myself out here by the way), I have to expand my definition of what constitutes a "Disney nerd" to allow space for some who loves Disney but hasn't seen EVERYTHING produced by the company. The alternative to this is to not expand my view thus creating a limiting belief in my mind. By staying attached to my thoughts and disallowing for any alterations to labels I'm more likely to force people back into the "appropriate box" constructed in my head. Sometimes this use of force is through degrading comments or questioning, "What do you mean you're a "dancer" but can't consistently do a double pirouette?", or even through actual physical violence to use an extreme example. I know I am guilty of a line of harmless questioning meant to inquire but have the unintended effect of shame and shrinkage. I want to change that. I want to start using labels as the ground floor for connection and not as the floor, four walls, and a ceiling too.
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