On labeling people:

Once you've given someone a label, you've effectively shut down your own mind to anything else the person you labeled might have to offer.

If you label enough people, you'll eventually run out of people from whom you can learn.

Just because someone has a differing opinion than yours, it doesn't automatically make them wrong.

Taking immediate offense to an opinion offered to you by a fellow human being without finding the underlying reason for them to have that opinion means you lack maturity both emotionally and intellectually. Announcing that you have been offended (unless of course the other party is intentionally being offensive) proves an inability to deal with your own prejudices/tenets in relation to a differing opinion.

When you give someone a label, it makes it too easy to dismiss them:
          "Don't listen to so-and-so, they're just a ______-ist!"
          "That (liberal/conservative) mentality is ruining this!"
          "That guy's a racist because..."
          "if you think/act that way you must be a ______"

Too many people fear/know they may be wrong, and will label someone immediately in order to drown out  the possibility to hear the opposing argument, and in the process, eliminate the opportunity to teach or learn.

I hear in the mass media, social media, and in everyday conversations, the need to open a dialog on issues of race, sexuality, poverty, education, fiscal responsibility, etc. Yet as soon as someone tries to genuinely start one, no matter which side of the issue, that person is immediately labeled, shouted down, and shut out. No one benefits, nothing is solved.

The mentality of "I'm right, You're wrong, end of story!" is doing way more harm in this world right now than you can imagine.

But what do I know?  I'm just a _____ .

Here's a link to a comic that illustrates the point.

if anybody still checks this... i am amazed

Well, hello there folks!

umm... yep

almost 3 years...

just remembered the password i created for this.

just looked to see if the fine folks at blogger got rid of my stuff.

nope--they didn't.

don't have much to share..

go watch some anime...if it is cool, send me a link.

thanks for looking

not that you have anything better to do than to look at an old blog site not very well maintained.

but thanks all the same


J

Wow, it's been more than a year since...

Now, where was I?

Oh, yes, here's where i left off: I think i was trying to say "my family is very good" en español, as I must have a HUGE Hispanic readership based on the e-mails I receive. Granted, the e-mails are mostly the same ol' "If you have a small penis, you have trouble getting said penis erect, I would like to loan you money against your home so we can solve all these problems and more if you will only wire us money to Nigeria so a wealthy heir can launder his cash and give you some" sort of spam everyone gets, only en español! How I got on the Hispanic mailing list is beyond me. I find it rather entertaining. Trying to figure out what they are trying to sell me using only my freshman year high school spanish, and the few choice words i have learned from the many Latin American customers who frequent my place of business, is possibly why I find them so humorous.
I got one the other day, that if my translation is correct, was trying to sell me Urine stain remover for my car's upholstery.
Another one was telling me how great a time I would have, as far as i understood it, if I were to send nude pictures of myself and my friends to them for fun and profit. (these people must not know me or my friends to ask this, it wouldn't be pretty, and I really can't see the profit or the fun.)

Again, I may be lost in translation, who knows.

If you are reading this, thank you
If you are not...............
moot point really

J