Rant incoming. (if you like this for some weird reason there’s more on my profile)
Preface that non of the following arguments are against you or your ideas. You just said something in a way that got me thinking. Any reference to “you” is a straw-man. I don’t want to make any assumptions about your ideas but will inevitably use a fictional person to talk to because it’s easier to structure a rant that way.
There is nothing wrong with “dividing people into labels and treating them differently”. It is wrong to try and derive any absolute value (good/bad, strong/weak, smart/dumb) out of people since humans are far too complex to fit on a single point on a spectrum. Sometimes you act smart sometimes dumb. In some situations you are strong in others you nope out as soon as possible. But that’s not all labels are.
Labels are primarily a tool for self-identification. “Anarchist” is a label. One that I’ve attached unto myself quite firmly. It’s the label I use as my primary identity and view the world through an anarchist lens because of that. Labels are a way to categorize and understand ourselves and those around us.
Even if you haven’t labelled yourself you can have one be attached to you, and that’s not necessarily bad. When categorizing you will reach a point where you need a label for “the rest”. This means that a group of people creates a label for you (some examples include cis, strait/hetero, gender-conforming, neurotypical). These labels get created and attached to you whether you want it or not and there is nothing wrong with that. The world is filled with different people and in order for that difference to be understood by both yourself and others you need words to describe things.
The problems begin when you add extra value to those labels. Fascist slogans work well here since fascism is built on this othering. By saying that there is some intrinsic or natural value in a label you are encouraging the behaviour associated with that label. And same vice-versa. This is how cultural control works. Through shaping a common concept of a type of person and then laughing at it, or showing respect to it, depending on the desired outcome. This phenomena exists everywhere, because it is a useful tool for managing groups. It’s a lot easier to call someone a statist to ignore their arguments than actually engage with them.
But this isn’t bad. some people are different and in a certain space you don’t want some people so labelling them to make sure they know they aren’t welcome. This community uses it in it’s about section:
Yes, if you’re an obnoxious (–>)neo-lib(<–) you’re going to get banned.
To sum it up, it’s not that simple. Everyone labels people. It’s how we understand the world around us. We treat others differently due to their labels so we can keep a culture we cherish alive. And I believe cultural control is a societal tactic, not just fascist one, ingrained into human social interaction and by extension society just as much as culture. It’s how we maintain long-term control over the world, over the future.
At the end of the day you should try and understand and get along with everyone. But to say everyone needs to be treated the same is to ignore the fact that we’re all different. We can’t be treated the same.
Agreed, once you’re in the mindset of dividing society by labels and treating them differently you’re on the path to fascism.
You just had to phrase it like that didn’t you?
Rant incoming. (if you like this for some weird reason there’s more on my profile)
Preface that non of the following arguments are against you or your ideas. You just said something in a way that got me thinking. Any reference to “you” is a straw-man. I don’t want to make any assumptions about your ideas but will inevitably use a fictional person to talk to because it’s easier to structure a rant that way.
There is nothing wrong with “dividing people into labels and treating them differently”. It is wrong to try and derive any absolute value (good/bad, strong/weak, smart/dumb) out of people since humans are far too complex to fit on a single point on a spectrum. Sometimes you act smart sometimes dumb. In some situations you are strong in others you nope out as soon as possible. But that’s not all labels are.
Labels are primarily a tool for self-identification. “Anarchist” is a label. One that I’ve attached unto myself quite firmly. It’s the label I use as my primary identity and view the world through an anarchist lens because of that. Labels are a way to categorize and understand ourselves and those around us.
Even if you haven’t labelled yourself you can have one be attached to you, and that’s not necessarily bad. When categorizing you will reach a point where you need a label for “the rest”. This means that a group of people creates a label for you (some examples include cis, strait/hetero, gender-conforming, neurotypical). These labels get created and attached to you whether you want it or not and there is nothing wrong with that. The world is filled with different people and in order for that difference to be understood by both yourself and others you need words to describe things.
The problems begin when you add extra value to those labels. Fascist slogans work well here since fascism is built on this othering. By saying that there is some intrinsic or natural value in a label you are encouraging the behaviour associated with that label. And same vice-versa. This is how cultural control works. Through shaping a common concept of a type of person and then laughing at it, or showing respect to it, depending on the desired outcome. This phenomena exists everywhere, because it is a useful tool for managing groups. It’s a lot easier to call someone a statist to ignore their arguments than actually engage with them.
But this isn’t bad. some people are different and in a certain space you don’t want some people so labelling them to make sure they know they aren’t welcome. This community uses it in it’s about section:
To sum it up, it’s not that simple. Everyone labels people. It’s how we understand the world around us. We treat others differently due to their labels so we can keep a culture we cherish alive. And I believe cultural control is a societal tactic, not just fascist one, ingrained into human social interaction and by extension society just as much as culture. It’s how we maintain long-term control over the world, over the future.
At the end of the day you should try and understand and get along with everyone. But to say everyone needs to be treated the same is to ignore the fact that we’re all different. We can’t be treated the same.