Labels

We love to affix labels,if we don’t, we feel we cannot connect with the world around us. It’s a big, bad world out there, remember? Labels help us to understand things better, “Developing world”, “First World” and so on.

Labelling is akin to product differentiation. Generally, all petrol products are the same ,once, we attach labels like “Shell” or “Esso”, we feel better. What’s the difference between the two anyway?

We have been conditioned when we meet a person for the first time , we tend to affix labels on him especially if you can’t figure out his ethnicity or his religion. In our part of the world and other parts as well, a person’s ethnicity carries certain baggage, it does help make our understanding of the world around us easier.

If we are not sure, we are never hesitant to ask for a person’s bloodline or his religion. In some societies this is considered rude. But, in Sabah , there are something like 30 ethnic groups, when meeting a person for the first time, it’s not easy to categorise him. A Christian sounding name does not mean he is definitely a Christian. A Muslim name does not automatically make the person a Muslim.

We don’t mean any harm, we just want to feel comfortable, so that we don’t commit a cultural/ or social faux pas. It’s better to ask than feel sorry.We do this all the time that we forget that the person is actually a human being. He probably wants to be accepted for what he is minus the labels.

We are also quick to affix labels if the behaviour of the person confirms to our prejudices of that particular ethnic group.Oh, that sensitive Malay, the selfish Chinese, the drunkard Kadazan Dusun, and it goes on.

Does this thinking really help us? If it makes one feel better, I have no quarrel with that. However, we must accept our fellow countrymen as human beings first. Don’t condemn the whole ethnic group because of the behaviour of a member of that particular group, he does not represent everyone. And please refrain from affixing labels too quickly to please yourselves.

If they upset you, it’s because of their shortcomings as human beings. I know it’s not easy to think differently because we have been conditioned that way for hundreds of years. If we believe we are different so that we get to know one another better and not to despise one another, that’s one big step already.