Labels

In the chaos
We seek neatness and order

We create borders and categories

Everything has a place or a label

So we are able to be organized

Not realizing those who are victimized

By being itemized into the big picture.

If a pen made it into a box of pencils,

It wouldn't be the end of the world,

But what if it were a girl?

Does she lose her identity 

Because society can't see her as an individual?

Where dual roles hardly exist

And people can't resist

The urge to criticize, idolize, and disguise all the wrong things

Brown skin is Mexican

Almond eyes are Chinese

Unable to seize control over perception of people's misconceptions.

"So it's a tiny mistake," they say.

A mistake that erases the traces of what makes people who they are.

Leaving scars on the souls unseen.

Sometimes the way people think becomes the reality

Instead of bitter

Let's go for better

Educate

Create the dialogue

Get out of the fog

The world is more complex than you think.

Hey Everyone,

       The poem above was inspired by a conversation posed in one of the auxiliar facebook groups I'm a part of., in where some people thought it was okay to use as "just a descriptor" the word chino for Asian. It bugged me, and therefore I went to work to express it with pen and paper (and now laptop and internet).

      I'll be the first to say that I am not perfect. I don't always say the right thing. I laugh at times at things other people may not find funny, but I guess it's not being perfect which makes us human. I also categorize things because it makes it easier to talk about, but just because a poodle is a dog, doesn't make all dogs poodles. 

        I've dealt with this many times with so many people assuming that if you speak Spanish you must be Mexican. I've gotten all sorts of responses like: "Ugh, it's all the same," "Isn't El Salvador, like in Mexico?" "Well I'm usually right, when I call someone Mexican." or even worse yet with an attitude "Do you speak English?"

   The problem with labeling people as certain (and sometimes exclusively) things, then we lose the various dimensions that make up our world, and de-value aspects of people.

Tell me what you think. Let the discussion begin!

~@CathyArely