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Throw Out The Label Maker


Through a lot of self-refection over the last few weeks I’ve come to believe it’s time to throw out the label maker before all the labels cover up our humanity.

I use to think labels were cool, signs of what we’re meant to be, until those words turned to weapons pointed at me.
Spastic, special disabled even retard these are the labels that at one time or another made my life hell.

Cousin, aunty uncle, mother, father; where I come in the family tree the energy I share with the world  is unique and impossible for a label to  define.

Chink , abo, wog and rag head; I don’t know why we can’t just see each other as people?

Gorgeous, sexy, ugly, disgusting, fat and skinny but I want to know why I’ve never seen a picture of a guy or girl in a wheelchair with the caption Heartthrob. We need to recognise all beauty.

Success, failure, dumb or genius, normal to eccentric these days all labels do is turn society into us and them.
Christian, Muslim, Buddhist are all labels we have made up to explain faith  but all religions put the focus on love.
Good, bad, right, wrong are just counterfeit labels that turn neighbour against neighbour stopping us all getting along.
Looney, mental, crazy and weird are labels that trick us into thinking sick people should be feared.
I wish I could put our world in a planet shaker; people it’s time to throw out the label maker.

Ponder, think and take action.

by Chris Van Ingen.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 7, 2015 at 9:27 PM

    Wise words, Chris. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. by Jaja ToffMay 10, 2015 at 5:48 PM

    Labels are a convenience and can help people understand. So they can be good. Unfortunately, they become a box into which people can be classified; judged; limited. Not so good. Everyone is different - and even people with the 'same' 'disability' can be affected differently, have different skills, different talents, and different gifts. So I agree totally. Let's ditch the label makers. And start treating people as the individuals that they all are.

    ReplyDelete

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