By definition in culture sense, labeling refers to some sort of opinions are made towards a person, and it appears to be judgmental in most cases since they are wrongly placed on individuals without understanding and accepting them. Actually, it has been an unconscious act among us to label others because it requires much less effort to assume something is true based on our previous experiences than to look up the facts. We tend to separate the world into categories so that we can understand it more easily by stereotyping. For instance, when we hear of the term “foreigner”, we will naturally consider some difficulty to get along with the person because he will be speaking a different language and having an individualistic culture background. In our labeling, his every social behavior will become distinctive to us as his acts will be assumed to be out of our expectations. Furthermore, if we are uncertain of the facts, we would rather go along with others than admit our ignorance. That is, we willingly accept statements without evidence of their validity. When you see a Japanese in all black listening to head banging music frequently, he may immediately be regarded as an gothic emo as emo culture is popular in Japan. Yet, this person will be viewed as having pessimistic character and negatively assessed by the majority of Chinese who view it as a kind of improper dressing which displays bad impressions. So if you approach this Japanese, you will be judged with prejudice and discrimination.
From the above, we can see that labeling prevents us from seeing the world with open-mindedness. In reality, human are complex, multi-faceted and multidimensional. When we apply labels to people, we put on blinders and see only a narrow view of an expansive and complicated human being with diverse cultural qualities. The rest of a person’s traits are crossed-out by the label. If I ask whether you are a liberal or conservationist, the answer should be on some issues you are liberal and on the other you are conservative, etc. Therefore, a single term should not be used to describe a person, or he will be reduced to a one-dimensional artifact of the profound person he really is. In addition to such an unfair judgment, labeling hurts as well. When people are labeled, they tend to rebel. They bottle up their emotions and instead play on these perceptions as a way of getting back. They retreat into their own private world, accepting they are social rejects.
Labeling detaches our global community, as individual uniqueness is ignored. Categorization enables us make nonsense of our world! The truth is, individuals from different cultural backgrounds embrace distinctive qualities of characters. They may live up to various attitudes to attain accomplishments based on different standards. What differs is just the way of living, but with similar motivations towards respective life pursuits. The existing cultural differences actually provide a pushing force for us to learn from each special party so as to learn to appreciate the beauty of human traits.
Why can’t we work on eliminating the habit of labeling others in order to achieve harmonious interpersonal relationships? We can overcome it by cultivating unconditional acceptance, compassion and understanding. We can learn to observe and experience the world without judgment. We can learn to accept the people as they are. Let’s grow in humility! And together, we make the world a better place to live in!
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