Tag Archives: label

Generalising – Blog No. 47

general

A lot of people have an issue with generalisations. They can be offensive, understandably, but sometimes they are necessary. When we are included in a bracket, or labelled as a whole, it forces accountability upon the everyman. Or woman. Interestingly, that makes individuals more inclined to define themselves as different from the masses in order that they distance themselves from the responsibility the masses must carry.

A point in hand is that each generalisation that is made is a reminder. A reminder that each one of us is part of a larger picture that has a history about which we can currently do nothing. It exists. Unfortunately, humans are largely predictable. They follow like lemmings their own kind, year in and year out. They insist on behaving the same way they have done for centuries. This needs changing before generalisations can be done away with.

It can be frustrating for people who do not deserve to wear the labels that are generally given to the collective. There are always those people who do not fit the mould that society has sculpted for every man, woman and child. Those ‘misfits’ who have been dragging balls and chains that do not belong shackled to their ankles. The ‘misfits’ are okay with their load – it has facilitated their unique position. They have the best of both worlds. They can blend with the generalisations into obscurity – along with the majority of the planet – or they can take accountability for their contributions to the history of our now and refine their definitions.

 

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Stereotyping – Blog No. 37

stereotype

It is important not to stereotype people, a people.  Stereotyping and assumption are not that far removed from one another.  For instance, you cannot assume that because a man comes from a line of ancestors that believed in the practice of eating humans, he is a ‘savage’ at heart.  You cannot assume any of his ancestors were savages at heart, either.  It is the same to me as calling these communities ‘primitive’ simply because they choose – or chose – to live at one with Nature, pitted against her elements – rather than adapting to the alternative, Christianity, and drowning in the shame that colonisers brought to their shores.  For cannibals, the practice of eating another human being was a very serious business, it was not a wild urge that needed ‘taming’ by the whites.

Stereotyping tends to result in the objectifying of people, a people.  It gives them a label before they have had a chance to show who they are.  If labelled wrongly, a person may become disinclined to show anybody anything.  It does not take long to realise that it is a serious waste of energy trying to convince a prejudiced mind that it is mistaken.  When that prejudiced mindset is eventually exposed – because it will be – there will be no one around who will be bothered to tell that mind the real truth.

Stereotyping is a cop out.  Rather take the time to find out who a person is, and what has shaped them the way they have become.  Judgements are split-second, that is true for most people and it is not easy to refrain from deciding at a glance what a person is about.  You cannot know what a person is about unless you understand what made them the way they are.  The only way to know that, is to ask.  If you do not get an answer, it is likely that you will not understand.

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Common sense – Blog No. 34

Common-Sense

You have a common sense.  Be daring and use it every day.  I am sure people are afraid of common sense.  There are so many terms and conditions applicable to almost every transaction made these days because people have to be told how to think.  They do not know how to distinguish between safe, and unsafe, it would seem.  There has to be a label on every label to make sure people understand the most basic things.  What has happened to simple living intelligence?  What are schools teaching children if it is not to think for themselves?  What have parents been teaching their children, if it is not to think for themselves?  Perhaps the hysterical labelling on every product is due to the billion dollar litigation business that happens globally, where the cases are often settled in favour of the customer who is suing an organisation for their ‘negligence’.  Litigation is largely out of hand.  You do not sue the council if you trip over a cracked pavement.  You watch where you are walking.  Blaming is a big part of this planet’s culture and it is not productive.  It teaches people not to be accountable for themselves.

Think about it.  Common sense should prevail in every situation in which you find yourself.  It should be well-developed enough to get you from A to B without you tripping over your own indecision.  A common sense is inherent.  You must just tap into it.  Instinct and common sense are very good partners, when your common sense is well-developed you can act on instinct and be pretty sure that your outcome is going to be favourable.  I suppose common sense is like the jury in a judge-and-jury system.  It is a round-up of thoughts, of considerations, of estimations, in order to provide the most effective course of action for you to take when faced with a dilemma of any sort.  Using common sense always has favourable results.  Always.  Common sense comes from the experience of centuries.  It is worth finding for yourself, and using.

Common sense is like the safety on a weapon.  Without it on, fatalities happen.  They may not, but they can.  It is better to have 0% chance of fatalities.  Apply your safety.  Use your common sense.

 

 

 

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