War on Labels?

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For a while now, there has been a “war on labels” flowing through the internet. Whether the labels determine a person's race, religion, or sexual orientation, there has been a rise in people wishing to disregard the labels and just be themselves. Even Raven Symone told Oprah, back in 2014, “I'm an American; I'm not an African-American. I'm an American." (CNN). However, what does it mean to be “just yourself” and how can we define ourselves without a label?

While everyone is attacking labels, it can be hard to see that not all labels are bad or restricting. For instance, just being a dog or a cat person is a label. Even the type of music a person enjoys is a label in itself. However, the problem arises when people start to use simple labels, like music interest, to start defining every aspect of a person. Just because a person’s favorite music genre is pop-punk, that doesn’t mean that they will grow up to become a bank robber. The connection of these two things is crazy, and comes from a place of ignorance rather than logic.

In the same way that a person’s musical interest does not correlate to their criminal history, neither does any other label connect to other aspects of a person's life. Just because a person is visibly black on the outside, that single factor gives no other insight to who that person is. They could really enjoy painting, or they could own 15 cars. There is no way to tell by simply looking at the color of their skin.

It is sad that race has to be a thing people want to pretend doesn’t exist. Race can be a beautiful thing, especially when connected to culture. A person's race could give insight to cultures that have since gone extinct, yet have beautiful traditions which should have the chance to live on. Yet, because a few people can not seem to see past the narrow views they have about people and race, we must all be color blind and forget about the wonderful differences that do exist in each culture.

When it comes to religion, people should not be afraid to speak their mind. The main issue people have with religion, is that most people have a very defined stance on what they believe, and people are unsure of how to disagree without letting hatred for a person’s beliefs get in the way. Everyone should be allowed to express their thoughts and beliefs, however, those beliefs should never be forced on another person. It is okay to have disagreeing viewpoints on any topic in life, and it is okay to talk about those differences, especially since those differences make us who we are.  However, just because we have differences, doesn’t mean we can not still love the people who see differently than us. You would never yell hateful things at someone just for owning a different car than you. Same with religion.

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In regards to sexual orientation, whether a person chooses to be labeled is solely up to them, just as their sexual orientation is up to them. If an issue has no personal effect on another person’s life, then that person really has no right to attack them for it. It is okay to disagree, but at the end of the day, it is their life, not the other person’s.   

Labels are a part of everyday life, whether they are about a person's interest, or about a person’s life choices. However, these labels should never be used to define more about a person then what the label clearly states. If they say they like dogs, then that label means simply that, they like dogs. Not that they are more likely to cheat in a relationship. Labels don’t need to be taken away, people just need to stop using them to determine more than they blatantly state.  

What do you think? Should labels be used, or do they have no place?

• For more information about Oprah’s Raven Symone interview:      http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/showbiz/raven-symone-gay-labels/index.html

• For more information about the problem with labels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0qD2K2RWkc