If someone places an individual in a box, the individual disappears and is now only known as the general collection of traits the label on the box represents.
That someone is now indifferent to that individual, they like or loathe them based only on the label of their box, not the actual individual.
To prevent people from becoming indifferent to each other, the boxes with labels must be put aside.
People must retain their individuality and communicate as individuals with each other.
I really like this. I’ve recently been thinking about Konrad Lorenz’ The Naked Ape. I read it looong ago, so I’m sure I’ve forgotten a lot, processes that de-individualize or depersonalize a person people can rekease greater violence toward that person.
We need to be able to look in each other’s eyes & employ our naturally empathetic nature. Getting folks out of boxes would surely help.
@ATXJane Connecting to others as individuals would be ideal. If all would take a breath and think the boxes with labels would disappear, they are only one tiny facet of a person and are frequently meaningless in relation to the worth of a person. Words used in a derogatory fashion are just tools, tools wielded by people to grow their power and manipulate others. The root of the problem is any person seeking to elevate their self importance over and above acting as a good citizen of a community.
🌸 Beautifully expressed. 🌸
Thank you for your kind words.
Sometimes it takes me a while to put together the right collection of words to convey the feeling behind the words.
So I put the words down and reread and change until the words at least put forth that feeling for me. I can only hope when I put them out there in the world others will get the sense of the feeling I strive to convey.
Your words gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and wet eyes, so thank you very much for that feeling.
@millard_jmm
Your expressions are very thoughtful and touching.