People and Pickles

            We label all sorts of things around us.  We label our food so we know what it is.  We label our folders so we can keep track of important documents.  We label our pets so we can call them.  We even label each other.  Labeling helps us identify ourselves and each other (ie: the blue-eyed girl), identify where we all fit in society (ie: the middle class), and identify what accommodations we may need (ie: the myopic boy). 

            When we write grocery lists, we don’t just write “Food, Cleaners, Paper goods.”  We write specific labels, such as “Dill pickles, Bread, Dishsoap, Napkins.”  We give each other nicknames (some we call each other, some we use only when talking about each other), parents name their children, we make an effort to remember names when we meet new people.  And that’s all good.

            Sometimes labels can help identify a specific set of needs, such as the labels “developmentally delayed” or “deaf.”  Labels like these help professionals know which services might be needed and easily describe a specific set of characteristics a person may have.  A kid who needs extra help in school has to fit one of a certain group of labels to qualify for special education.

            The problem comes when we start to see labels as definers.  If we see a man in a wheelchair and think only “cerebral palsy,” we fail to see the brilliant cosmologist, author, and actor.  Stephen Hawking is not defined by his condition or his chair.  If we see a man in the Oval Office and think only “Black,” we fail to see the lawyer and politician who pulled himself up from a difficult childhood to become President of the United States.  Barak Obama is not defined by the color of his skin. 

            We must learn to be cautious of our own thinking.  We all have biases, we believe stereotypes, we make labels.  We must train ourselves to look past these things to see clearly and recognize the people behind the labels.