I’m a CAN OF TUNA
May 24, 2007
Hi, I’m Ruben & I’m 18.
Here is my very first rant on this website and its about one of the few things I’m good at.
“Hate“. v. hat·ed, hat·ing, hates : To feel hostility or animosity toward.
I’m a person who considers hate to be a waste of energy. But out of necessity, I have to use it since we live within a cultured misunderstanding of Love and Hate that leaves lives with little purpose and even less passion. Atheists are often labeled as a bunch of haters, but as we look under that label, we find that the human inside, is just like you and me. He/She just happens to follow another faith. I hate because I’m human.
And the first thing on my hate list is “Label” - Why is it that people feel compelled to label everything? Black, white, rich, poor, muslim, lawyer, the divorcing-type, the walk-alone-type, The Atheist. Well, fine! I’m a Can Of Tuna.
You might be wondering about my choice for this title. Its because when I look at the days that passed in my short life, I find many things I lived thru -the good, the bad, the happy, the sad, the faithful, the spiritual, emo, geek, smart, stupid & alot many things I can never put down on paper.
And when I desperately try to scribble them down in my journal, I’m unable to confine it all into one single label. You can write a label on a can for its contents and in this case, a can of tuna. But you can never label another human being. Being an atheist, a muslim or a witch is just a part of the assorted contents that you are.
Since the beginning of biblical time, Adam strode around naming everything. That is a lion. That is a polar bear. And this is an apple. *munch. - I’m Indian descent and strong Christian upbringing (well, not strong enough) . Are these characteristics of ourselves? Or labels from society. Honestly, who really gives a damn if my ancestors were Indian or Arabic? But why would humans need so desperately to label everything? Why on earth do we belittle individualism while we try to scream it at the same time?
We find ourself a bit different from the rest of the animals on earth. In a typical male fashion, we take that feeling of difference and try to turn it into power, only to mask our deep sorrow. Why do we crave betterment? Why on earth are we always trying to prove ourselves, and what are we trying to prove ourselves to? We are very, very alone on this planet. With millions of other species crawling and thriving with us, we can’t seem to really connect to anything. Not even other humans. Why are human souls so separate from each other? When you look another person in the eyes it’s more like a mirror than a window.
It should never be used to pin you on a wall. It is not you and it will never be you. I have always had my own set of very strong morals & principles. I am incredibly aware of my conscience & I’m always open to criticism and I allow others to try and change my point of view. One of those such things was an older post by RivalArrival, where he made me understand the true definitions of these labels -And that was the day I gave up using the label “strong atheist.
As a web developer, I hate the <label> tag too and its pretty annoying when you are coding. Kind of silly to hate it but you can simply wrap the click-this-button for selection. Whey go into all that HTML to define labels for-this for-that. With all of the attention being given to ease in this Web 2.0 world, let’s make sure we’ve got 1.0 covered first.
Don’t hate people with a tag “Atheist” or “Christian” - Just try to get along, because once you stop labeling, the hating stops.
By the end of this rant, I think I found myself an answer (I dont call myself AnswerMan for nothing), Why do humans label everything? Maybe because one day we hope to find a label for ourselves, and file ourselves into the world, where we can finally fit. But some people don’t like labels and neither do they like to be stacked on a wall - and you better respect that.
Oh! I hate labels.
The AnswerMan!
PS: drop a line, be honest, be free, be warm, be hateful, whatever, just be.
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6 Responses to “I’m a CAN OF TUNA”
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Labels are also a way of describing people in the English language, as far as I can tell. For example, let’s say I’m a comedian and don’t want to upset my audience. If I am told that most of my audience is Christian, I’ve just labeled them but now I also know what kind of jokes I probably should avoid so as not to step on too many toes. Could just be me, though…
The “evil” in labels is the inherent generalization required in using them.
Grouping people creates an us-and-them mentality. Sometimes that mentality is necessary, sometimes it is not.
As far as the joke: I subscribe to the Mencia philosophy. I’m of the opinion that the LISTENER is responsible for being offended by a joke. If you don’t want to hear it, don’t listen. If you are offended, walk away. The speaker’s right to speak is paramount, the listener has no right to be free from being offended. Frankly, I think that everyone should be able to laugh at their own shortcomings, or at the stereotypes associated with their group. It’s a JOKE. It doesn’t reflect life, it parodies and satirizes life.
Good points all around. Most of the time we use labels, it is simply a
matter of convenience. Take, for example, an apple. I say that one word, and
you've an immediate picture of what I'm speaking about. Without that label, I
might have to say something to this effect, "that kind of roundish, red thing
that grows on trees, but is later removed to be eaten, relvealing a juicy, sweet
yet tangy inside that is crunchy in texture, etc…" I'm so glad for labels in
those cases. ##Yet there are times when these tools to simplify
our language over-simplify a situation, object, or, worst of all, a person. When
I say, "that jock over there" or "those damned atheists" or "stupid Christians"
or whatnot, I have reduced those human beings to something much, much simpler
and of much less value. That "jock" is no longer Fred the son, the brother, the
friend, student, football player, music lover, poet, etc. when I speak labels at
people in that manner, they become little more than objects either advancing or
preventing my interests. The clerk and the bagger are no more
people than the coveyer belt that moves my food in the checker line. The
cop is no more a person than my speedometer that read 10mph over the
speed limit. ##
Labels are an incredibly convenient linguistic tool. However, very often,
they are used for people and reduce them to little more than objects. This is a
shame, but it's truly unavoidable. Really, it is impossible that I consider all
of the people around me to be truly human in the same way that I, my family, and
my friends are human - they have the same characteristics, and if I really think
about them, then yes, of course they are essentially equal to me and those close
to me, but I couldn't possibly consider this at all times. To care for the
cashier at the grocery store the same way I do for my sister is not only
unlikely and inconvenient, I don't think it's possible - the amount of effort
and energy required to be a good, loving brother (or friend, spouse, parent,
etc.) is staggering compared to what I am willing and able to exert with that
cashier. ##
Yes, it's a shame, but I highly doubt anyone could possibly go through their
life without labels and valuing each person as highly as the next; the stranger
on the street being as important as your mother seems almost absurd. Labels,
among other socio-psychological tools, make it possible to live in this society,
or any society above ~ 200 people, really. Answerman: you can hate labels, but
I, for one, need them to lead my life. ##
p.s. (totally unrelated) I've been having difficulty formatting comments
lately - hopefully this doesn't turn out a messy block like recent comments. In
case it does, I've inserted number signs were paragraphs ought to be. If it does
not, simply ignore the number signs.
Here you are! I always wondered what would happen if I clicked on that blast of yours over at "Blahew!"…can of tuna, eh? It fits, somehow. It could also have been Spam. I like that last part about humans trying to find a label for themselves. It seems they do it quite a bit in their teens and 20's, but then lull themselves into thinking they've got it "figured out", just because they get a job, house, car, spouse, kids and so on. Not so! Because, as death draws near (even if they think it's a few decades away!) they start worrying. They worry if they'll go to "Heaven" or "Hell", or (theists will NEVER admit this) whether there's REALLY a god and an afterlife! This makes them nervous and they start searching AGAIN, for meaning, validation and of course, labels. They want to tell themselves that they're "good", or "saved" or something to ease those lonely midnight fits of fear and wondering. For some, it works, but as Thoreau wrote: Most people "live lives of quiet desperation." So they lash out at people with other designations, other thoughts and beliefs that aren't like theirs. What if THOSE are right and theirs are wrong?! They live in fear and hate…which as we all know, leads to The Dark Side!for my part, I'm pretty comfy, at middle age, not worrying WHERE my body or soul (if I have one) will end up at the end. I'm happy just to be alive and not living in the slums or jungle of some awful place with land leeches.That about sums it up…..for now!
I hate labels, too! I particularly hate racial and nationalistic labels. I am a citizen of the planet Earth or, in an even broader category, a citizen of the universe!
I hate labels, too! I particularly hate racial and nationalistic labels. I am a citizen of the planet Earth or, in an even broader category, a citizen of the universe!