I look out on the world today at times, I read the papers, watch the news, surf the ‘net, take my hound for a drag and do anything which involves seeing and meeting people and I often wander if we see the person any more, or do we see the label? Imagine one of those old fashioned brown paper parcel labels, tied at the corner with string, but man-sized, woman-sized, child-sized, covered in what we are and what we perceived as being.
I am a big brown paper parcel label with words writ upon me, carrying my own identity, my colour, my race, my preferences and other’s opinions. Sometimes others will approach me and scribble or scrawl upon my surface their thoughts – Liberal, Pagan, Foreign, Poet, Writer, Animal Lover, Nutter, Crazy, Fun, Mad, Straight, Gay?, Posh, Poor, Not Required – so on and so on and so on. But who am I? Am I my label and what it says about me? Do I introduce myself to new people or do I stand there quietly while they read? Do I check what’s written or do I refuse to read and just say what I know? hmmmm interesting? What complicates it even more is that different people read what is written in different ways……to some I am a good person, to others a nut, to some I am attractive, to others I am not, to some I am a kindred spirit, to others and enemy or an opposite……how am I to keep track of all of these things? I could edit my label maybe? I could correct some of the entries and set the record straight? How long would that take? So the appearance of my label changes over time anyway, the string gets longer or maybe frayed, perhaps it needs changing – maybe the style of the pen changes, from crayon, fibre tips, magic marker, Biro, fountain pen(!) and back again……all this creates the overall, the image….sometimes people look at the style and look of the label and don’t even bother to read what is on it……how could I keep up? Should I wipe my label clean, change it for one of the nice shiny plastic ones I see here and there, upgrade? It does seem like the cultural Nazis on either side of the great political divide want me to live my life one way or another……..independent thought is not encouraged by some but conformity is….next I’m sure I'll be accused of immorality to let my dog parade around naked and will of course be responsible, in no small part, for the moral decline of some nation or another……Maybe a Teflon label? Nothing seems to stick to those, I think there are politicians out there that use them……so what to do with my label? hmmmmm upgrade?
Or should I take my label, hold it firmly in both hands and carefully, methodically, tear it into tiny, tiny little shreds?
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