Labeling and Being Labeled - Becoming Interactive

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Tyler Lloyd
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Table of Contents
On Agorism
Pg 2
Typism
Pgs 3 – 12
Labeling and Being
Labeled
Pgs 13 – 16
Addressing the
S-Word
Pgs 17 – 33
1
On Agorism
• She writes for both FOX and CNN
• She donates to the Federal Reserve
• She gives meter maids crap if they don’t
show any hustle
• She installed parking meters and speed
bumps on your street
• She made your house a drug and gun free
zone
• She encourages war and entitlement
spending
• She says the pledge of allegiance when she
wakes up in the morning
• She supports carbon taxes
• She shut down the local lemonade stand for
operating without a business license
• She got a permit to throw your birthday
party
• She pays her taxes in January
• She volunteers for jury duty only to convict
• She wants every victimless crime to be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
• She votes and volunteers to run polling
places
33
We have all heard about the police
shutting down lemonade stands on the side of
the road. However, as long as a market exists of
exchanges wherein willing buyers and sellers of
goods and services can trade freely with each
other, Agorism can thrive.
After all, the US dollar is simply a
measurement of economic value in the perceived
global economy. Don’t let that exclusively define
you financially, because you as an individual have
every right to the true free market of AnarchoCapitalism. Everyone possesses capital outside of
the money simply sitting in a bank account
somewhere and it often remains unutilized.
This comes out of people owning
their property and the freedom to trade those
possessions for anything else one desires.
Likewise, people are also free to work at the
production of whatever goods or services they
wish to trade in, or to capitalize on the
production of those goods and services. Agorism
means creating industry outside of the regulation
and taxation forced on them by American
governmental bureaucracy. Third party arbiters
that impede the free market economy should not
be able to regulate every good and service one
wants to create or receive. How could they if
each exchange is voluntary between individuals?
2
Yo Mama so statist:
Typism
Typism
• She protests protesting
• She volunteers to deliver mail on
Sundays
• She holds a public vote when eating
out to determine a collective gratuity
• She heckles in free speech zones
• She tried to sue the ACLU for having
too many freedoms
• She donates bullets to the police
department
• She is pushing a bill to ban smoking ecigarettes in public establishments
• She reports homeschoolers for truancy
• She gets turned on by TSA pat-downs
• She condones drone strikes
• She vacations at Guantanamo Bay
• She emails herself in the hopes a NSA
agent will reply
3 3
32
To end this article I’m going to list a
bunch of “yo mama” jokes to illustrate
that I don’t hate the word “statist” just
because it can be offensive to others. I’m
just saying to be careful in how one goes
about using it. I hope these jokes are
absurd enough to go without warranting
any animosity.
9) Breaking & Entering
(Warrant Serving)
*Disclaimer: I’m not talking about
anyone’s mother in particular.
Ever heard of a search warrant? Well
once these guys get one they don’t see
any point in knocking first. Remember
they don’t need to respect your property
because you are a suspected competitor.
31
44
What is your favorite –ist label? I
usually think sociologist, dentist,
pharmacologist, and scientist when
adding the –ist suffix to words. In doing
this I have shown the way in which the
label applies to specialists, but there is a
much darker side of the –ist suffix.
Just as specialists are more than
their occupation, the label of their
occupation does give us an
understanding of their background. The
problem is when we solely identify
someone by an ambiguous label that
issues arise. How many dermatologists
do you think are shown bug bites and
skin rashes in their free time? Boiling the
sum of a person into just one label is
essentialist; meaning their inherent
personhood is defined by some
preconceived notion. Mr. Misogynist and
Ms. Misandrist may hate each other, but
can anyone really apply such broad
stereotypes to either a man or a woman,
on such a consist basis? I reject this and
believe people can transcend the
thoughts and opinions other people
have in identifying them.
5
Some ANCAPS claim that Anarchy is not a
political position because only individuals
know how to best live their lives.
Therefore, if any group aims to strip away
this inalienable dignity, then they
continue to prove how pervasive the
state is in oppressing individualism.
Regardless of how made up your mind is,
you are not going to gain much out of
your relationships with others if you
spend all your time simply trying to
change their beliefs to match your own.
In time our shared values will be pushed
forward and remedy the ignorance of the
past and present. Thanks for reading
through this and please feel free to
ignore everything I wrote. Proudly
proclaim, “FUCK THAT SHIT, I’LL SAY
WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT!” Just try
to realize the effects you have on others
in doing so. Not everyone is your enemy
in the fight against statism; some people
just don’t know where the lines are
drawn.
30
The idea is to end the state for freedom
to flourish and find new solutions to strife. When we
alienate each other by claiming which one of us is
still somewhat statist, or who among us is the more
or less privileged, we marginalize the arguments for
anarchy. How we treat each other now will
determine how people treat each other in the future.
In conclusion, the main point that I am trying to
convey here is that words can both bring people
together and distance them. Know this in your
conversations with others, and try not to offend
others if, and when, they disagree with you. On the
other side of that notion, don’t be offended if other
people simply disagree with you. Calling someone
any term that can be perceived as derogatory limits
social interaction and can lead to unintended
consequences. When one creates friction between
oneself and other people, we all potentially miss out
on something great. Not everyone is going to take on
your political perspective, and it is your responsibility
to respect that. Unfortunately, for anarchocapitalists the majority of people still do not
understand the issues of immoral values imposed on
everyone through governmental control and
regulation
29
A good example of this is
Gamergate. Just because a very small
minority of radical feminist gamers find AAA
games offensive does not mean all gamers
hate women and are racist. How racism and
sexism go hand in hand within this campaign
for social justice in gaming is mostly a ploy,
than an actual complaint. I understand that
different forms of entertainment should be
inclusive to all people and their preferences.
However when those games do nothing
more than indoctrinate its players with
Cultural Marxism; it is no wonder why most
gamers don’t want to play the games social
justice warriors champion. Making video
games politically correct is like charging
people with assault who play contact sports.
These are the same kinds of people who
would heckle a stand-up comedian because
he offended them.
6
Here we were, trying to enjoy a
night out and have a few laughs, until
someone with an authoritarian opinion,
pipes up to interrupt the comedian’s
set; temporarily ruining the show for
everyone. This is what Anti-Gamergate
is all about. They pride themselves on
being the fun police, instilling political
correctness, and forcing creative
expression to be only somewhat
expressive. My analysis: they just hate
freedom if it does not appeal to the
social norms they see fit to perpetuate.
Perpetuation of which is failing, so now
they demonize all who dare to disagree
with their cynical perspective.
Negatively labeling others in this age of
political correctness is as, if not more,
alienating to a person than if that
person actually advocates for/or
participates in hate speech.
7
Now that I’m finished meandering about
the basics, I would like to address political infighting.
People within the same political movements have
always disagreed with each other on various minor
issues. However, the idea is to not “throw the baby
out with the bathwater”. As someone new to
anarcho- capitalism I still find myself with statist
thinking from time to time, but being part of a social
movement for the end of government does not
mean competing with others to prove myself as
more or less statist. I don’t know anyone who was
raised by anarchist parents or escaped the
indoctrination of public education. Therefore, we all
still have some form of statism instilled in us,
whether we like it or not. Hopefully I won’t be able
to say the same about the next generation, because
by pushing these values forward we can create a
better future for them. Even if we reach a stateless
society, people are still going to have fights and
disagreements. This is okay, because individuals will
be free to associate and disassociate with whomever
they please. My plea is that we do not let minor
differences and misunderstandings create division in
a movement that is inclusively beneficial to
everyone.
28
With government – less is more, so why
would anarchists want to alienate themselves from
libertarians or conservatives who want to stand up
against escalating governmental coercion and
corruption? The goal is to increase freedom by
eliminating the government’s power in the hopes
that maybe one day the values found in Anarchism
will render the state obsolete. I believe this will be a
gradual process if social change is to be made
possible, but who knows how much faster the state
will prove itself incompetent and harmful (cough,
Obamacare, cough). If the American people do have
an influence over their government, then having this
discussion with voters is very important. If one runs
the numbers of those eligible to vote and those who
actually do, it is found to be more American not to
vote. For those of us committed to the cause of
freedom, it’s just heartbreaking to see all the lives
destroyed by the state in the name of any opinion
enforced at gunpoint. If less violence means less
government, then we owe it to ourselves to rise
above the issues that generate such violence and
human degradation in the first place.
27
If you have studied labeling theory
from the symbolic internationalist perspective,
then you can understand what happens when
people are labeled. We often call this
phenomenon a self-fulfilling prophecy, because
those labeled will actually start manifesting the
attributes assigned to them based on how
adhesive the label. I have come to the conclusion
that labeling the behaviors of others as politically
incorrect, when unjustified, to be a form of
socially institutional prejudice. Calling someone
racist, classist, or sexist, if you do not agree with
their perspective on controversy, does nothing to
further discussion or quell ignorance. It is just a
form of social and relational violence, inflicted on
those who refuse to conform to the norms of
leftist socio-cultural pathology. Not everyone is a
hardcore bigot and people can change, but they
most certainly won’t if the chance to change is
made unavailable to them. The solution to this
social division stemming from quick accusations
and mislabeled victims is the creation of a new
label itself.
8
Don’t be a typist. Reject using
negative –ist labels to describe others based
on your essentialist notions of them.
Labeling is a form of objectifying an
individual, and in doing so we limit, if not
completely diminish the agency that person
possesses. We create more theoretical
misogynists, criminals, terrorists, racists,
classists, and ablists through this practice of
labeling. A good example of this was a crime
that occurred in Richmond at 6:20 PM on
the 300 block of Hancock Avenue,
December 1st of last year. 23 year old
Cassandra Albrecht was changed with a
misdemeanor for obstructing a police
investigation after she pepper sprayed an
innocent man in an SUV once he asked her if
she was ok, and if she could give him
directions. It was not the man who filed the
police report, but the aggressor who wanted
other people to know that she was almost
kidnapped.
9
Tying this all back around, it is
important that if we hope to change, reform,
or end the state one must expect opposition.
If this does not come from the state itself,
then it will come from people who don’t hold
our moral convictions. A wise friend ends the
conversations he has with those that will
argue relentlessly against Anarchy by saying,
“… well maybe one day you will find that
institutionalizing violence and monopolizing
basic human services will not set us free.” It
may have been easy to simply call this person
a statist, but that will probably leave them
feeling crossed. The last problem I have with
the term is that it creates a secondary position
in which someone is branded as the “other”.
By calling someone statist, it serves to divide
people on an issue that they could have come
together on.
26
Too often though, I see the hate in
other people’s eyes pointed in my direction
because they saw me at the compass, heard
me at the mock governor’s debate, or know
me as the president of the Conspiracy Club. I
cannot let their assumptions or prejudice
about what they think they know about me get
me down on myself. Although, for a while I was
really lost to the misconceptions I felt other
people held in me. This caused me to clam-up
and isolate, and in doing so I alienated some of
the people who really care about me. The
people who resort to judgmental claims by
labeling others are often themselves missing
the point of hearing out that which they
disagree with. Why even come to college if
your mind is already made up about
everything, and anyone you disagree with must
be discouraged and/or discriminated against?
25
Nothing of the such was going to
happen on that evening, but
taxpayers, the police, and primetime
news networks all lost valuable
resources caused by the student’s
fabrication. Criminology professor
Joan Neff from the University of
Richmond noted that most falsely
reported cases are from people who
simply want to feel like someone
cares (Hall, False Abduction Report
Could Lead to Charges).
10
Do you think we should label
those that mislabel? Through the
practice of labeling others “typist” we
can actually use labeling to increase
freedom and decrease social division. I
don’t mean to impose a new form of
political correctness, quite the contrary.
I hope that by labeling the mislabelers
we can live in a world with more free
speech and less censorship. From
labeling these people, we can stop the
social alienation and stigmatization they
spread amongst interpersonal/
multicultural relations. I’m not saying
we live in a world without sexism or
racism, but that we can live in a world
without people making things sexist and
racial in the name of fighting it.
11
There are people out there who
are proudly statist and will always believe the
mainstream misconceptions about anarchy. I,
myself, am still very concerned about what a
stateless society would look like. However, by
pushing the values forward of the NAP and
Peaceful Parenting one hopes to change the
social narrative. If we hope to overcome these
institutions based on violence then we must
prove ourselves stronger than the coercion
inflicted on us by the state. I have lost friends,
been made fun of, and even publicly shamed
for questioning the current socio-political
environment. Yet, I am better for it. Over time
I have learned to not take my beliefs so
seriously that I alienate people. Conversely,
those that seek to alienate me from others are
really only hurting themselves by highlighting
how little they know me. I’ve met some really
great people, who do and don’t share my
political perspectives, but I have always
appreciated their company and perspective.
Adults can talk out their disagreements and
work though an argument without name
calling. In this practice both parties gain from
the interaction.
24
Try to not get so caught up in an
orthodoxy, in the effort to recruit others into
having your own perspective, that you forget
the fun that comes with actually talking to
people. This world would be a lot less
interesting if everyone agreed on the same
things and had no original positions to take on
an issue. Not only would nothing be solved,
but these drones would be a total bore to talk
to; only regurgitating what everyone else
around them already believes in. A true
philosopher can take either side of a debate,
which serves to solidify their own beliefs by
becoming more knowledgeable about the
entirety of the issue. These highly complex
sociological problems are not going to be
solved overnight by inflicting relational
violence against one another. Just because
someone identifies as a Democrat, a
Republican, or a Tea Partier does not mean
they should be ignored, and their political
voice silenced. Therefore, if we hope to
“wake-up” the people around us to
governmental corruption and immorality we
cannot resort to name calling when others
disagree with us.
23
Imagine a world where you can
approach, compliment, and have a
conversation with other people
without being accused of harassment.
Imagine a world where no matter how
off-color the joke, people will
recognize it as just that; a joke.
Imagine a world where people do not
live in the fear of being labeled
misogynistic or racist, because those
who seek to instill political correctness
into everything have been identified,
labeled, and socially ostracized. In this
world everyone knows what bigotry is,
but none feel the need to fuel the fire
of hatred with their own hypocritical
form of anti-bigot bigotry. Can such a
world exist, or am I just an idealist?
Works Cited
Hall, Lorenzo.
“False Abduction Report Could Lead to
Charges.”
WTVRcom. CBS 6,
3 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
12
Labeling and Being Labeled
I try my best to not label people or
judge others too harshly, but there are
moments where I found myself doing that. It
was 9PM at Wendy’s on Broad Street, and I
was trying to grab dinner after work when I
ran into him. He was a large black man walking
around with a hefty garbage bag filled with
what I assumed to be all his belongings. My
label for him was “homeless,” and I felt
uncomfortable heading into this restaurant
behind him. In an effort of courtesy this man
opened the door for me and held it open for
me to walk in before him. It was raining and
the man was soaked, so this was a meaningful
gesture because of the contrast between us.
13
This is a problem I face when sharing
my views and opinions with others who show little
respect for me. These labels, like the label statist,
only serve to dismiss the other person’s
perspective because it runs contrary to your own
beliefs. In philosophic debates resorting to insults
while neglecting to refute the argument at hand
does not get anyone anywhere. This is a lot easier
to do than we think, and no one ever really wants
to be caught advocating for sexism, classism,
racism, slavery, or genocide. We all just have
different opinions about how to resolve these
problems and marginalizing another’s beliefs does
not address the current efforts that need to be
taken in search of freedom and equality for all.
The truth is that it’s hard to challenge
your personal beliefs, and it takes a level of
maturity to merely entertain the ideas of someone
who we fundamentally disagree with. However,
this is the point of having conversations with
others. If we cannot defend our beliefs when they
are challenged, then we should question why we
even believe them in the first place.
22
Even if we don’t hold common ground
we can both still learn from this interaction. Being
able to express our social concerns with people who
hold different beliefs lets us learn what is happening
on both sides of the fence, and if an original solution
or compromise can surface.
At this point some could go as far as to
label me a rape-apologist because of the belief that
the state is fundamentally immoral, and to ever vote
would be to condone such behavior. However, calling
someone this term will also create friction in what
could have very well been a civil political discourse.
In one of my communication classes they went as far
as to say that one should never talk about politics or
religion with strangers because of how strongly
everyone has an opinion. Yet, these two topics are
great icebreakers when trying to start up a
conversation with new people and figure out their
priorities. You will always find people who disagree
with you and any perspective you present them with.
Regardless of politics and religion, discussions about
ideas and values are always meaningful. For some,
any political dissent outside of their own personal
beliefs are labeled as privileged, racist, misogynistic,
arrogant, insensitive, or even treasonous.
21
Yet, holding the door for me was not
necessary, and his effort to do so made for an
awkward moment because of my reaction. I feel
really bad for my reaction, which was that of
mirroring a deer in the headlights. He stood there
holding the door for me, and I just stood there
looking at him. Sadly, my fear got the best of me and
I thought, “I was not going to let this man to my
backside.” My behavior offended the guy and we
shared this unpleasant moment- where he held the
door for me, and I would not go in as long as he
stood there holding the door.
The label of “homeless,” which got so
stuck in my head, kept me scared and paralyzed as
he finally went inside alone and the door shut
behind him. He hung his head low and looked down
at my feet for a second, before going in and said,
“Shit dude, I’m still a person.” I used the restroom
before going to the counter to order my food, but
after doing my business I left the Wendy’s because I
felt so humiliated. My prejudice kept me from even
eating in a place where this man was, because of the
label I placed on him. Who knows how this man is
doing today, but looking back I wish I would have
appealed to him as a person. Maybe I could have
bought him dinner, or even ate mine with him and
learned about his life. Just because someone is
considered homeless doesn’t mean they will be
homeless for the rest of their life, and I really regret
my behavior in that situation.
14
A time where I have been labeled was
when I went to hangout with a group of AnarchoCommunists. They have this library I was interested
in checking out, and I went in the hopes of learning
about political philosophy and history. To my dismay,
few books on the shelves were ones I actually
wanted to read, and few people there were willing to
talk to me. I felt like they labeled me “privileged,”
and that I couldn’t relate to their struggle or
philosophy. Needless to say, I left shortly thereafter
because of how snubbed I felt treated. I think of
myself as a pretty normal guy, but to the counterculture “normal” will not make you very many
friends. If only I was poor, dirty, and wearing punk
rock clothing. Then maybe they would have been
more willing to talk to me.
Despite feeling so unwelcomed I still
want to break through their bias, but I don’t think
they will ever let me. It was weird to be looked down
on by people everyone else I know would have
already looked down upon; labeling them the whitetrash of the radical left. By labeling me “privileged,”
it was like they rejected all the work I’ve done on my
own to get me to where I am today, and all the
sacrifices my family has made in raising me.
15
Talking about statism and what it
means to live under a state is an important
conversation to have with yourself and others.
Calling someone out for holding a statist position
isn’t going to help them learn how such a position
is harmful. Regardless of how a person identifies
politically we can all still remain critical of the state
and its actions that maim, kill, and steal from
people everyday; while restricting freedom. Blind
allegiance to a politician one voted for does not
make the current system of government any more
ethical. For many anarchists just voting is a form of
aggression that forces one political preference onto
everyone. Those who are not so inclined into being
ruled are likely to reject the majority’s political
preference which panders to collectivist nonsense.
To contradict myself, I voted for the capital L
candidate Gary Johnson in the 2012 presidential
election, and after being counted as part of that
one percent minority who did so, I lost my faith in
the democratic political process. However, I don’t
mind talking with someone who still believes in a
political party because I find the conversations with
them still worth having.
20
For some people this term is
nothing new, although for others it is
offensive. How we go about finding semantic
meaning within terms, and the way we use
those terms to label others, is a topic I would
like to explore here. I am not taking the
position here that we should ban the word
statist (OMG, that’s like soooo bossy), but I
would like to point out that the word can be
used derogatively. Calling someone “statist” in
a political debate does not further philosophy,
instead it stifles it. For most people I’ve met
and had political discussions with, unless they
were in some way knowledgeable of the
freedom movement the lingo surrounding
statism remains largely outside of their
vocabulary. Ignorance is not a good defense,
but it is important that people who try to
spread the message of anarchy do so without
distancing themselves from their audience. I
don’t mean to patronize those who believe in
the state or take a minarchist position, but I do
feel those political views should be given a
voice.
19
Just because of the way I look does
not mean we can’t still have a normal
conversation. At the very least we should be
able to find common ground somewhere.
Leaving, I felt so frustrated and it was like I had
intruded on their group. It doesn’t mean much
to me now because there was probably
nothing I could have done there to change the
way they perceived me.
Labels are subtle things that people
place onto others within the very moment
they see or identify someone. I just wish they
weren’t so adhesive and divisive, because
there is more to a person than what meets the
eye. Don’t think you know someone or have
them figured out, because people can often
surprise you.
16
The ANCAPS of Urban Dictionary define the
term Statist as:
Addressing the S-Word
Modern day supporter of political slavery; A
secular State-Worshiper; Member of the cult
of the State; An irrational, immoral, collectivist
parasite which leeches off the productive
private sector at the point of a gun, while
attempting to justify such behavior through
invalid, unethical, altruistic arguments. Uses
statist law (oppressive edicts backed by
criminal violence) to intimidate and run the
neo-slave racket. Typically found in
government, politics, bureaucracy, police,
military and law; aka Supporter of such;
Governmentalist; Nationalist; A degenerate
sub-human who makes your life a living hell;
An accident just waiting to happen.
To sum up this sentiment they used statist in
the following sentence:
17
A statist is just about anyone who’s not an
anarcho-capitalist.
18
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