Places to Chat
Not a label-
Chatterbox: Down to Earth
Not a label-
Not a label-
I really hope I'm not spamming this place with threads and comments... I guess I apologize too much though.
Anyway, I just wanted to share something that I felt was important. I've noticed this happening to other people and perhapse myself, actually. I probably seem like I'm stating the obvious, but just the fact that this still needs to be brought to light means that it isn't completely obvious yet. It's about having things assumed about you, by another person, without them even getting to know you.
It's about your physical charactaristics determining, in the eyes of other people, what you are, and what you should be. And I think I've had just enough of sitting around passivley dissmissing these labels that are slapped on us the moment we wake up every day.
Even if you think this doesn't relate to you, I bet it does. I bet absolutely everything about us is labeled in some way, that even only subtly changes peoples perceptions of us. So I composed this:
Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm meek
Just because I'm girlish doesn't mean I'm weak.
My eyes may be narrow, narrower than yours
But that shouldn't have to close any doors.
I am still a child, so I must be naive
And my heritage somehow determines my path?
How many of these things do people actually beleive?
I'm meant for art and writing, not math.
I'm not a label.
Anyway, even if CB doesn't do hashtags, I'll make one to state my message: #NotALabel
submitted by Pooki P, age -30, #NotALabel
(June 15, 2018 - 10:55 am)
(June 15, 2018 - 10:55 am)
Top. Just stay here, thread.
Anyways. I think you're right, Pooki. I hang out with the boys, always. I think that the other girls in my grade judge me because of that. Which sucks. It doesn't matter who I hang out with. I am me. And nobody is like me. Get over it, people.
(June 15, 2018 - 1:20 pm)
Dang right.
Nobody is a carbon copy <3
(June 16, 2018 - 3:31 pm)
thank you for this
(June 15, 2018 - 1:21 pm)
Aw crud-TOP!!!
(June 15, 2018 - 1:26 pm)
Topagain! TOP TOP TOP
(June 15, 2018 - 3:16 pm)
Aww yes lables are a big part in my life. I live in Hawaii, where everyone has dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. I am blond with blue eyes and light skin. I am often labelled as "haole" which means "outsider" or "foreign" in Hawaiian, even though I have lived here for pretty much my entire life. People often assume that I know nothing about Hawaiian culture, but actually its exactly the opposite. I'm more involved in cultural activities than the people who label me! It's very frustrating.
(June 15, 2018 - 4:44 pm)
While I live in a very diverse area and may not have ever really been considered an outsider, I can see how that must suck. Nobody has the right to judge you like that. The color of your skin and hair has not right to determine what kind of person you are.
(June 16, 2018 - 3:34 pm)
If I may add on?
Stop talking about "dumb blondes" in front of me.
I can't stand it.
I'm sitting on the train, talking to my friend. One of them tells me about a girl that she doesn't like. "She's a s---, you know, classic blonde."
Ellie. Have you. Looked at me?
Blonde. So blonde.
There's no such thing as a "classic blonde." Stop categorizing people as such.
(June 15, 2018 - 6:58 pm)
Oh my goodness. Thank you.
I am so tired of blonde stereotypes.
(June 16, 2018 - 8:44 am)
Gosh, my friend from art class was blonder than all of us, and she was the opposite of all these dumb labels!
(June 16, 2018 - 3:28 pm)
I don't really have problems with labels, since there is really nothing to label me about? I mean, I'm Chinese, so people could assume that I have an accent, but not really, they don't assume that because I don't look Chinese at all . . . only the black hair, and facial features - I have really dark skin from being outside a lot.
(June 15, 2018 - 7:56 pm)
I'm glad you haven't faced all that cruddy label stuff and I hope you never do :>
(June 16, 2018 - 3:35 pm)
Yes, that is so true! I don't really like stereotypes either, because none of them are fully true. And they even take place in some laws! For example, African Americans may have lower standards in order to get into college! If an Asian has a higher GPA and SAT score and all that than an African American, the African American might get into a better college, just because the law says so.
However, I think I know where it comes from. If this law weren't in place, then good colleges might be full of Asian people, because if you look at statistics, Asians have the highest average score on lots of things out of all the ethnicities, so... I guess this counts as protecting people who are slightly disadvantaged (also because America was really mean to African Americans in the past... with slavery and the Civil Rights Movement and all that...), but at the same time, it's kind of stereotyping, isn't it?
And, also, there's a stereotype that Asians are good at math, and I agree that some Asians are terrible at math and much better at language arts. However, if you look at MathCounts Nationals, IMO Qualifiers, etc., a LOT of them are Asians. So, basically, my point is that every stereotype has a kernel of truth in it, but stereotypes just take that and magify it a million times. Because Americans can be super good at math too, and Asians can be terrible at math. So the stereotype is true, but it's false at the same time... if that makes any sense. Probably not.
Anyways... this was a very... strange post, so I'm just going to click submit before I can ramble on anymore... I feel like some of this might be rude, but I've never been very good at getting my point across, so sorry if this offended anyone!
(I used way too many ellipses in that.)
(June 16, 2018 - 2:30 pm)
Hiya Cassandra,
The reason African Americans can get into colleges easier has nothing to do with our past in slavery (or, not directly). It actually has to do with the current socioeconomic status of this world and how awfully a lot of African Americans are still faring. For example, the net worth of an entire African American household is, on average, eight dollars. Because of this, the law needs to make it easier for African Americans to get into colleges. Since so many of them come from poor backgrounds that can't afford higher education, and many of them are stuck in low-quality education systems, they need to be able to get into good colleges easily to make their way in the world. Of course, this isn't true for every African American household out there, but it's true for a lot of them.
Many stereotypes have a basis in fact. That doesn't mean that you should still default to them. Maybe there is a high percentage of Asian Americans that are very good at math. You still shouldn't assume that an Asian American is good at math just because of their race.
And, lastly, friendly reminder that Asians living in America are Americans. I think you meant Caucasians. :)
(June 16, 2018 - 4:22 pm)
To add on to you, Owly
Affirmative action, which I believe is what y'all are referring to, was put into place in order to help families who are unable to acheive equal opportunities. So as St. Owl stated, while it may be true that for impoverished African American and Latin American families, you don't need to score as high on the SATs, this is not a case of the U.S. trying to "make up" for past actions. The reason why affirmative action is used to lower the achievment gap, since people with less opportunities achieve less, which contributes to generational poverty.
(June 16, 2018 - 11:46 pm)