Subscribe to Breaking NewsRuby-Sachs: “Left-wingers” and other fancy labels
, 365gay blogger 10.08.2008 3:19pm EDT
There has been a little chatter about whether I qualify as a left-winger and I’m guilty of exactly the same kind of speculation.
We all want to know just how independent and impartial comments and analysis are.
Still, on a website where many of the readers and writers understand how labels can be degrading, sometimes insulting and definitely distracting, we should endeavor to focus on the issues discussed, not the orientation, political or otherwise, of the person discussing them.
Labeling impedes discourse when it comes to ideas. If more politicians and voters remembered this, we might get more done in this country.
Labels are either nouns or adjectives. Label is a noun. Using nouns and adjectives label persons, places or things.
It seems to me that we need a good definition of “label”.
Most canned goods and clothing have labels. Some describe who made them; some labels delineate how to care for the “item”.
Some labels are good … gay …
Some labels are bad … bigot …
Or vice-versa, depending on one’s persuasion!
In general, every person who writes on this site, columnist, blogger or commenter uses labels. We all communicate using labels. I am not sure just how to communicate with just verbs and adverbs.
In some cases, nouns become verbs (text, most recently changed its orientation); verbs also flip-flop on occasion … (trick comes to mind.)
In the end, I must disagee with the idea of not using labels, because nothing will “get done” without them! Why? Else we will not be able to communicate EXACTLY what we mean to say, and to evoke a specific emotion with our well-chosen verbiage.
BTW, verbiage is a noun, which makes it a label.