March 14, 2012
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RACIST! ...Why Behavior-Based Labels are Necessary
We had an interesting moment in the public arena a few weeks ago. Rush Limbaugh called a girl a name, and people were upset. All labels are rude and improper, and we should be more polite, right? Don't use words like SLUT. Keep it classy. We are all good people and deserve better, right? Labels are baaaaaad. And yes, running around sticking post-it notes with names on people's backs is a recipe for disaster. One might even say Jesus himself was against name calling (see Matthew 5:21-22). But, in the middle of all this head-shaking, I feel like we're going too far and saying that behavior-based labels themselves are lies. Some want to say that there are no SLUTS, ALCOHOLICS, or ADDICTS. These are just bad words that society uses to blame individuals for their choices. We're all just good people trying to do good things, lalala, no one's ever wrong, no one's ever mistaken...
But frankly, in the midst of all this politeness and finger-wagging, THIEF, we forget what behavior-based labels are for. We forget that sometimes we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and smack ourselves in the face with STUPID. By trying to declare that behavior-based labels are bad, we try to avoid any kind of accurate judgment of our actions that hurt one another, RACIST, or destroy ourselves, ADDICT. Those words bear a stigma because they should, IDIOT. Denying our status as members of a community, where we do indeed succeed or fail based on the actions of other members of the community, is futile, SELF-CENTERED FOOL. So look, sneaky ADULTERER, instead of always fighting the label, fight the action, ABUSER. I worry, SINNER, that at the end of the day we are trying to excuse away all manner of harmful, abusive, and cruel behavior by legislating the labels away, as if that helps the people we hurt, MANWHORE. Don't dodge the labels, dodge the crime, PERVERT. Get it?
Comments (24)
This is a very serious problem.
Got it,
I agree with you on not dodging the labels but, I feel like often people are so quick to put a label on someone. They throw the labels around not knowing what they mean and it get's attached to some one. It hurts people...
I'm all for owning up to your actions but not promoting prejudice. (Not saying that you are... Just sometimes it get's to that..? I'm not sure if I made sense there. lol)
Got it, thanks.
they nice thing is being post modern, is it allows all the caped words to be destigmatized, for others and one's self. so not only do you avoid labeling others, but when labeled they don't register as much.
I thought Rush got in trouble for using an inappropriate label. I have no problem using labels as long as you are using the correct one, as in make you are calling a spade a spade!
I'm on the fence with this one, but i get your point. I don't think people should necessarly avoid using them if they appear to be evident. Certainly sometimes they speak the truth, as much as we hate to admit it, in those cases we should not shy away from them. No one likes to be called an alcoholic, but hey, if the show fits! But, you can't deny it's problematic, take the situation you mentionned above where he called the girl a slut for support birth control. That is not just a label, it is an idea, and ideas are very powerful. If someone in a poweful postition has such an idea there can be consequences that are very drastic.
Ideas and opinions about people shape the way we view them and treat them. Sure, no one care if I think joe blow next door is a slut, who cares about my opinion, mine dosn't matter, but the ideas that shape mass public opinion and those in certain position power does matter.
I'm not saying we should dodge them, but we should maybe consider them before we them.
Rush is an IDIOT. He doesn't even know how birth control works. And if he got it confused with the morning after pill, he's an even bigger FOOL. I don't feel bad passing that judgment since he did the same. I would go so far as to say he is a complete ASSHOLE.
So long as we don't admit we're sinners, there's no way we can receive salvation ~ Luke 18:9-14. We try to make excuses for our sin, we try to justify ourselves, we try to relabel and re-categorize, we engage in mental gymnastics and manipulations to make ourselves appear better than we are – but in God's eyes, each and every one of us is unrighteous, and God considers even our own best works as filthy rags ~ Isaiah 64:6. And in the end, it's His judgment that counts for eternity. I was a slut in the true sense of the word, but God saved me out of that. I know that apart from Jesus Christ, there is no good thing at all that dwells in me, and nothing at all in me to commend me to God, and that I would quickly leave the God I love – apart from His persevering grace.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
(from Robert Robinson's "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing")
I am Karen – a hell-deserving, unworthy, wretched sinner, saved by grace alone to the glory of God alone.
taking all the labels off cans is a plan for disaster. Think about it...How would you ever know which were out of date? How would we know the rat poison from the nutrasweet? Jesus never actually said "don't judge ever." What Jesus said was make right judgments. Judgments which condemn people are the ones which are forbidden. Condemnation is something the individual does to him/herself. It isn't wrong to acknowledge that the alcoholic, addict, adulterer are doing things which destroy themselves and others. Let the label fit the action. But always remember, Jesus comes to take away our labels off, to put a new one on us: NEW CREATION.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life has set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2.
The focus for the believer in Jesus Christ is to see the self-imposed sin label, and see each person as if they wear the NEW CREATION label. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8... To see as God sees is to see the self-imposed label, but to see as God sees, we must also be able to look past the sin label to the NEW CREATION label. God sees past the sin, because Jesus has the ability to overcome both sinner and sin.
I agree that labels have their place. However, many times I feel like people use incorrect labels and are too quick to slap a label on someone before knowing what they're labeling.
I am a bad behavior doer, myself. I certainly don't mind the labels. I accept my behavior and the labels that come with it. If it bothered me, I would change what I do.
We humans are pattern-matching machines. Without labels we can't communicate. But we should take labels seriously enough to not use them frivolously.
I think most people wont really get this post because it seems paradoxical (I really like this post by the way!), but I dont think it actually is: Is it mean to be rude to people? Yes. Is it a fact that many people need to be shaken out of their comfort zone and/or confront themselves? Yes. The preference of course, would be that close family or friends would do this but sometimes humans are stubborn and prideful, so it takes the jab of a stranger and we look in the mirror and ask: Am I racist? slut? mean? etc.... It is at that point we really see our self because someone saw in us that which we hide and called us out on it. Now, do I think calling people out in public is right? No, especially if it is for media/politics. But the thing is, we call women out for being sluts of bitches yet protect rapist. We call politicians out for being unethical but are ok with a ten year war. We say we love our troops but abandon them when they come home. We call a girl a slut for getting an abortion, yet we dont show her open arms, and offer to share her burden and life. We forget their are real people with those labels, so why we can call them out, we have a far greater responsibility. Jesus did not just call out the tax collector, he was his friend. We still have so much to learn.
I think that the problem stems from the misuse and liberal application of said labels. For example, the situation with Rush Limbaugh... the label of "slut" is completely inappropriate because A) There are a myriad of health concerns besides pregnancy prevention that may cause you to use birth control pills. B) Just because you are on the pill does not necessarily mean that you have having sex with multiple partners, if any at all. C) The remark that he made was groundless. It was not based on any actual knowledge of this woman's sexual history or behavior. When you apply labels in this way, it can be incredibly detrimental, because these are not the people who need to take a step back from the community and embark on some self-reflection to examine what may be very destructive behavior. Instead, you're shunning people who have done absolutely nothing wrong based on an incorrect assumption that you've made.
Love it. Wish there was a 'slam dunk' mini to give.
It's not the labels, it's the unfair, sexist or racist (or whatever) assignment of the label.
If you're stupid because you think the birth control pill is only used for preventing sex, then you are stupid. (Not you, you but the generic you.)
The problem with "slut" here is that 1) slut is only used to disparage women. It is only to target the sexual activity of women. Men are not sluts, even if we decide that a guy who uses condoms is a "slut" like Rush implied this woman was, he would be a "male slut". It's like he's a "male nurse". Or "lady doctor"... etc. 2) This poor woman wasn't even a slut and if she is indeed a lesbian then she sure as heck isn't using the pill to prevent pregnancy, is she?
So, what it boils down to is that Rush is an idiot and there's no way to tell if this woman actually sleeps with too many people or not! But since she might be a woman who has sex, Rush thinks it's okay to call her a slut? F' no, I don't think so.
i'm all for the labels as long as it is used correctly.
@MommyMarty22 - @AmyDoo - @firetyger - @Lost_In_Reverie - @sarahfus - You all are right that correct labels make a huge difference. Incorrect labels just make problems worse, and certainly there are some people who like throwing around labels too easily. We all have that friend who cries "Wolf" when it's a rabbit, etc. It's a fair point.
@TiredSoVeryTired - @Lost_In_Reverie - @heyjulsiscoo - Personally, I did not realize that for some women, birth control can help lessen PMS issues until about a year? ago. That does change the flavor of the debate, and it's also true that it can apparently cause problems to suddenly go off/on birth control. Just for fun, though, let's suppose birth control only was good for stopping pregnancy: would that really change your perception of what Rush said, one way or the other?
@heyjulsiscoo - You don't comment very often, FRIEND but when you do, PAL, you show a thoughtful mind, SMART ONE, and an ability to challenge my post. Thanks, Julia, appreciate it!
@Doubledb - @Such_are_you - @naphtali_deer - I love reading the thoughts of my fellow Christians on this topic: three different views of the problem, all that fit together and show different aspects of the truth. Group hug, brothers and sisters.
@GreekPhysique -
@GreekPhysique - One of the biggest problems that has been brought to light by this whole situation is the fact that women are realizing how many men there are who genuinely do not understand the birth control pill, or how it works. One of the reasons I wrote my most recent blog post was to clarify a few points about the myriad of non-sexual uses of birth control, the fact that not any woman can use any pill, and the extreme variation in price that occurs with and without insurance. This realization that many men do not fully understand the pill is an understandable terrifying realization for women - not only is legislation that will govern their ability to obtain the pill being discussed by a room full of people who will never use it, it is being discussed by a room full of people who don't even understand its function and applications. That's a really scary thought.
In response to your question, I would say no, my perception would not change if the pill were only used for preventing pregnancy. For starters, just because you are using the pill to prevent pregnancy does not mean in any way that you are having sex with multiple partners. There are plenty of married couples who use the pill because they are monogamous and have no concerns about STDs, and are simply waiting to start a family. I don't think there's really any way to classify a woman in that situation as a whore. Even in a situation where a woman IS having sex with multiple partners, people are way too quick to assign the title of "whore". Women are shamed simply because they enjoy sex while men who partake in identical sexual misadventures are congratulated and praised. It's a disgusting double standard that degrades women and makes them feel like shit for enjoying something that is totally natural. At the end of the day, he was completely wrong to make the remark because it wasn't based on any legitimate observation.
If you check out my most recent post, there's a great video at the end that sums up pretty much everything I've said in a much funnier way.
Label people to control them and their behavior. Seems legit.
@GreekPhysique - Personally, I do not like birth control pills for myself because 1) I don't like to mess with my hormones. 2) I view the pill as sometimes able to cause an abortion and I don't wish to risk that for me. BUTTTTT, even if the only purpose of the pill was to prevent pregnancy there is absolutely no way I can draw any conclusions about a woman taking it! What if she already has six kids with the same husband, is she a slut for being on it? No! What if she had an ectopic pregnancy and she doesn't wish to risk another one or has severe endometriosis or fibroid tumors or whatever and a pregnancy would either be very difficult or end in miscarriage, is she a slut for being on it? No! A woman on the birth control pill is not a slut or whore or skank or any such label society assigns to women! It's downright sexist, misogynist, and absolutely not "loving your neighbor" to assume such bull crap. Also, I've known women to go on the pill after being raped because the fear it would happen again and result in a pregnancy terrified them.
It's about time society understands and stops downgrading a woman's libido! Women want sex just like men do and that sure as hell doesn't make us sluts.
@GreekPhysique -
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