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Labels, we see them everyday. We see them on products that we buy. We see them on clothing that we buy. Have you ever thought about why we prefer a specific brand over another? Is it the label? Is it the quality?

I was part of an interesting conversation recently on labels. Which got me to thinking even more in depth about the subject matter.

Do we perceive a specific label as better than another? Is it of higher quality if we prefer label A over label B? Or is it simply personal choice?

What about using labels on people? Do you catch yourself saying, "she's so blond?" or "Look out! She's a red head!"? Or how about the child that is a "slow student"? or a "slow learner"?

What do we mean when we label someone? Are we insulting them? How would we feel if someone said that about us? Would we feel like we had been unfairly labeled?

Do we tend to buy all one brand of canned food simply because we feel that that is the only product worth buying? Or are we more adventurous and will we consider buying an "off" brand product or a store brand product?

Is it really a higher quality? A lot of canned food is processed all at the same factory so how can the label determine that one brand is a higher quality over another?

For clothing it is usually more a matter of style. Though a teenager will just "die" if he or she doesn't get that famous name brand pair of designer jeans that cost almost $100. How long will that trend last? Yup, about a week. Then its off to the next name brand.

Does the designer label identify our teenager as a higher class citizen? or does it more appropriately identify them as "needing to fit in"? Since styles revolve continuously should it even matter?

Do we look at the person sitting on the side of the road panhandling as a bum? Perhaps a vet returned from a war and suffering from post traumatic stress and unable to work would be more appropriate. What about the single mother? Is she suddenly considered with a label? Instead of simply calling it as it is, a mom, do we label her with a lesser title of "single mother" thus demeaning her position? How about the "ditzy blond"? I mean seriously, anyone can be ditzy. Anyone can have a temper, you don't have to be a red head.

How about the "Preachers daughter"? Frequently the preachers children have a wild reputation. What does that do to the rest of the preachers kids that do not have a wild reputation and thus get to spend their time making themselves look even better to counteract their counterparts lack of discretion?

Why do we as a society feel the need to label people? Perhaps if we just accept them as they are, people, thus not judging them but rather giving them the position they fully deserve. Children are people too. Why should we then label them?

Do we really need to demean one another this way?

Learn more about this author, Linda L Kinyon.
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