Why Do We Label?

To say I am distraught and saddened by what is going on in the world is an understatement at best. I got a phone call from my daughter last night. She is going through recruitment to join a sorority and struggling to know which one is right for her. As I read the reviews on Greekrank for each one, I felt immediately sick to my stomach. They label them top tier, middle and bottom tier. I didn’t get it at first but as I read more and more comments I clearly understood. Top tier was known as the girls who had money. Those are the sororities with the biggest, nicest houses and bottom tier usually meant the girls didn’t have a house and I assume aren’t as popular. Why do we feel the need to label everything? Why is everything a competition? Why do we insist on breaking people down into winners or losers? We line them up on a podium and decide who has the most value based on our own warped standards. As if any of us are that important. We are disillusioned. This is why we recognize hate in someone else but are unable to see it in ourselves. This is why we readily crucify people for crimes we are just as guilty of. But there’s a reason right? We justify that it’s okay for us because our thoughts are right and valid. The hypocrisy is sickening and we are blinded to it and consumed with ourselves. We think everyone should think like we do and if they don’t we slap labels on them. We call them names even though we’ve never known them. We call people bigots who disagree with our own beliefs because we don’t even know the definition of the word. We jump in to insult or demean anyone or anything that is inconsistent with what we think should be. I’ve had enough. Yeah, hatred is alive and well and we are all puppets in a dangerous game. We want to compare in a way that places people and beliefs and religions and race and even sororities in these same categories. We lift one up and demean the others according to what we think is impressive or important. Back to the sorority…

I will tell my daughter this…rip the damn label off. Ignore it, stomp on it, bury it in the ground. Don’t read other people’s opinions or give them any relevance. At the end of the day, all you can hope for is that you find yourself in a group of people who make you feel loved and supported. There’s enough people who will line up to tell you what is wrong with you, surround yourself with people who tell you what is right. Choose the people who make you feel you are good enough just the way you are. Those are the ones who should be top tier in your book. The rest is all an illusion. Don’t play the game . Freedom of speech was not intended to entitle everyone to share every single thought and opinion. Be better and kinder and more compassionate than ever before. Define your own categories according to what really matters. Remember we are not meant to be places in groups or boxes. we are all individuals, different and beautiful in our own way. We were never programmed to be the same. Just keep being you. Dont ever adjust!

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