And at the same time, if someone is hitting you, and you say, "Stop hitting me!" the response, "Look, man, stop labeling my actions, I don't believe in labels," is really irritating, you know? Likewise, as called out here, when I as a woman of color am turned down for a job and a less-qualified white man is hired, and I point that out, if he says, "Look, don't call me white, that's a label, and I don't see color" is profoundly unhelpful. Labels are imprecise, imperfect, and shaped by context, because they are words and that is the nature of words. But we also have words for a reason, and I think what's being called out here is the impulse to say "stop describing what's going on" because the description is unsettling.
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Date: 2010-03-07 10:08 am (UTC)Labels are imprecise, imperfect, and shaped by context, because they are words and that is the nature of words. But we also have words for a reason, and I think what's being called out here is the impulse to say "stop describing what's going on" because the description is unsettling.