People use labels all the time. And everyone has multiple labels they could be identified by, but they really don’t like it when those labels are used to pigeon-hole them and their other characteristics are overlooked.
Some of my labels are/I am:
- Mom
- step-mom
- Sister
- Daughter
- youngest child
- Wife
- X-wife
- Friend
- BFF
- Accountant
- Jokester
- mental abuse/bullying victim
- cousin
- Niece
- Aunt
- Confidant
- game developer
- game lover
- avid reader
- burgeoning writer
- Mother-in-law
- Diabetic
- piano player
- Needleworker
- Seamstress
- heart failure patient
- cat and dog person
- concerned citizen and
- the list goes on and on . . .
Any one of those labels is a correct description of me, but not a complete one. One or two, or even a handful of labels is not nearly enough to give someone an idea of what makes me tick. Hell, I’m not sure I know what makes me tick sometimes!
One of my pet peeves is catch-all phrases like “Well, that’s a woman for you,” or “All men are _____.” I understand all about stereotypes and that they can be useful in some ways. They can be quite handy when making quick decisions or generalizations. The part that really gets me is that a lot of people seem to stop thinking at one or two stereotypes. They forget to consider further what might be going on in someone’s head to make them act in a certain way.
That brings me to an example, and something I want to write about more next time – the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and the young man that did the shooting. I’ve only heard about a few labels for him so far: gun owner, bullying victim and grandson.
- What else has he experienced that influenced his choices?
- Is he solely responsible for those horrible deaths, or are there other people that should be held at least partly responsible as well?
- What can we each do in our lives to help prevent all this nastiness and violence in our world today?
I certainly don’t have any answers, but I do have thoughts, and I for one think they’re worth sending out into the world to see where they go.
Thank you for spending part of your day with me, I look forward to hearing from anyone reading this. I would only ask that everyone follows the Golden Rule and treat me and my writing as you would want you and your creations treated.
Have a great day today!