There has been a lot of talk about labels here and in the other room lately and yeah they do suck [View all]

[LostOne4Ever]

Last edited Mon Nov 3, 2014, 12:42 AM - Edit history (2)

They divide people and oversimplify things.

But you know what sucks more? Having people, who oppose your very existence, labeling you instead and having it stick. The reality that those who oppose labels refuse to accept is that you either define yourself, or you allow others to define you.

Words have power. If you allow others to label you, then they get to define who you are and have power over you. Power to tell the world what you believe and what you don't believe. Power to call you moral or immoral, power to deem you worthy or to turn you into a monster. Power to strengthen you or strip you of your very humanity...and then, in the most extreme of circumstances, your life.

By defining yourself you are taking power over how you are perceived by others. You are telling the world what it is that makes you unique, and to do so on your own terms. You are telling the world what makes you...YOU!!!

Getting rid of labels sounds good on paper, but what it really does is empower intolerance and ends individuality. It is a demand that we all be alike, that we all be the same. It is conformist thinking that rejects anything different, anything unique, anything valuable that the majority does not have or want.

To the anti-label crowd, you are not an African American, you are just an American. You are not gay, you are just another person. If your experience does not meld with the majority experience, they are going to want to pretend your issues do not exist. To deny you. To deny the adversities you face. To say, "Why do you have a problem with that? Why do you insist on dividing us?" To push you back into the closet and pretend you don't exist! This is why you see the right wing demanding we stop seeing the world in colors and demand we all be colorblind, because they are the majority. Because they know they will win that way.

Its the ultimate whitewashing under the banner of conformity! One that tries to disguise itself as benevolent egalitarian collectivism when it fact it is a tool of fascist hierarchical collectivism that sacrifices individuality at the alter of tyranny of the majority.

[div class="excerpt" style="margin-left:1em; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius:0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"][center]"Why do you have to bring up your sexuality/atheism? Why can't we all just be the same." [/center]

[font face=papyrus size=3][center] Why? [/center]

[center] Because we are NOT all the same! Because those things are parts of me! [/center][/font]

[div style='color:#B20000 !important; font-size:2em !important; text-align:center !important;'] BECAUSE I HAVE VALUE AND WILL NOT BE PUSHED INTO ANY CLOSET I DON'T WANT TO BE IN!!!

[div style='color:#B20000 !important; font-size:5em !important; text-align:center !important;'] YOU DON'T GET TO DEFINE ME!!!

[font face=papyrus size=3][center]I will not be ashamed of being an atheist or any of my labels! [/center]

[font color=teal][center] I will not be silent and fade into the background because my label makes you uncomfortable. I am not going to let you tell me what I do or do not believe! To further STIGMATIZE the label I identify with. I am not going to let you associate me and my label with things they have nothing to do with![/center][/font][/font]

[div style='color:#B20000 !important; font-size:5em !important; text-align:center !important;']I am proud of who I am and I WILL NOT LET YOU OR ANYONE ELSE DEFINE ME!!!


[center] [/center]

In conclusion, I would like to say, if you don't like my labels then don't use them. I don't care how you label yourself, and I believe it is your RIGHT to label yourself as you wish. However, if you do make up your own label, do it on your own terms. Don't use my label to define your label; because, when you do that, whether you intend to or not, you are applying your own biases to the label and redefining me in the process.


[font face=papyrus size=3][center]AND I WILL NOT LET YOU DO THAT! I WON'T BE QUIET! I WILL PUSH BACK![/center][/font]

[center][font color=#B20000 size=5em face=Impact]I am Proud to be who I am. [/font] [font color=#B20000 size=6em face=Impact] A Liberal. An Agnostic.[/center]
[center][/font] [font color=#B20000 size=7em face=Impact] And an ATHEIST! [/font][/center]