labels affect attitude and beliefs

label yourself a liberal and prepare to have newfound strong beliefs in the liberal side of issues you might not have really cared about otherwise.

label yourself a hippie and prepare to have newfound affinity and admiration for hippie-related activities and people you might have otherwise thought were ludicrous

i am guilty of and have been guilty of both of these things to a certain degree. i assume i'm not the only one

 

"Can you think clearly if you have a prejudice, a particular belief- that is, if you think as a Hindu, a communist, or a Christian? Surely, you can think very clearly only when your mind is not tethered to a belief as a monkey might be tethered to a stake..."
-Krishnamurti

Look at how the labels of republican and democrat are ripping apart america, for an example. The mind seeks to classify, to make sense; when it can say, this is just a such and such and label it as that, it no longer looks at the object as it truly is, but through the filter of what label you take on.

 

The lack of personal integrity, the inability or unwillingness to think for oneself makes the use of labels very convenient if not absolutely necessary. Americans have become very weak and lazy when it comes to thinking for oneself...so much easier to get the full-meal deal where everything is handed to you for quick consumption. Scarey as hell!

 

are labels necessarily a completely bad thing though? i mean, i carry a few labels that i think are accurate and help cement some sort of identity in my psyche. i'll agree that labels can affect one's reason and judgement when it comes to things having to do with that label...but i mean, if it's accurate, it's accurate. seems to me that it's not so much that "labels are bad" as it is man's brain is naturally hardwired to generalize, conform, etc when labels are in place. blinding one from possible truths

 

''I dont want to be labelled'' is a load of shit..labels are also names,words that are used to identify oneself or others...obviously it can be derogatory or complimentary and otherwise.. ,,,haha...no matter what,someone will have a group to stick you in and pin a label on your lapel...for me it is ''epic douchebag''...

 

i'd say the self-fulfilling prophecy effect has happened on me a lil, but the labels are just little touchstones i acknowledge, then leave behind, or use to explain an aspect of myself in retrospect. i dont really find labels to be that bad, but then again i never really get offended with anything at all

 

As long as people don't take the labeling from others too seriously, it really doesn't matter...its when people take them seriously that they start believing in these things.

"I think, therefore I am"