What brought on this random question? I face labels on a daily basis, being ill health is the label I prefer to use myself, by the legal definition of the courts I am disabled but I do not claim DLA. What does that matter you might ask! Well some companies and many people have decided that the disabled label is only for people claiming DLA benefit, it's a bone of contention with me in some ways because by the legal definition I am disabled but for many companies I can not claim a disabled discount because I decided not to battle the legal system for the benefit.
At the moment I pretty much daily see unemployed bashing going on in the press or on social media, another label used to degrade people! I get so upset seeing it, lazy, scrounging are more labels I see put on unemployed.
So why does it upset me? should I be upset? I have actually had this discussion a few times with people who I have pulled up calling all unemployed lazy scroungers. I say to them that I find it offensive because I did not choose to be in this situation, I worked all my life after college, I had an accident that left me ill, I lost my job, health, home all because of it and I am now on Ill health benefits. I am unemployed, I can't work but I am working with my health care people to try and get better to work and I want to with all my heart get back to work even if its only part time.
When I normally explain my situation people say oh we did not mean people like you we meant the others! But most of the others also have their own stories that we do not know! This is my point we are not a label! We are all humans, individuals!
Today I logged online to see a new version of downgrading labelling, I saw some bloggers having a go at some compers, now at this point you might be asking what the heck is a comper or a blogger lol. A comper is someone who has a hobby of entering competitions, a blogger is someone who runs and writes their own blog.
Just recently there has been a lot of hostility between compers and bloggers, some bloggers have taken to banning anyone they feel is a comper from their comps. I am told there had been a lot of problems with compers entering, I can not comment on this because I have not been involved in any and while I can understand their frustration, it's yet again a use of labelling to judge a full group of people based on a few peoples actions.
Today I also saw a new label appear, one for something they are calling a comper/blogger, used in a very derogative way. On first glance it does not look like a derogative label but the self labelled bloggers have decided that any comper whom runs a blog is doing so for purely selfish gain. They have decided that they are doing it to win more prizes.
This irritates me because everyone has their own reasons to write, why did each blogger start writing? What makes their starting block or reason to start their blog good but someone who was a comper first selfish? What about the compers that started their blogs 2 years ago, 10 years ago? what is the time restraint on this label?
This is not my first blog, I have had blogs and websites for many years, I started writing in 2007, I have coded and made websites from scratch, I have been a webmaster, I ran a website for a band, helped on a forum for a singer, I have blogged, I have comped. So what am I? What label do I fall under?
Is it ok for me to have this blog, I mean I only started it recently, I am a comper! So am I am comper/blogger? or does the fact that I have been a webmaster longer override this? Is a webmaster better than a blogger? Or is it all ridiculous?
The answer from me is that we need to stop labels! They are hurtful, no group of people fit into a same mould! Everyone has their own stories, some good some bad but we are all individuals!
If you find yourself labelling think about it in the future and how it can affect people being labelled!
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