I'm Not A Stereo Nor Typical!

Yes, I've written many articles about bias and the effects its had on the human race, it being the best breading ground for hate, and those who 'profit' from it by stimulation of it. I think it's the biggest cancer of them all...socially. Thanks for your informative input Cabcraft.

I really learnt things from the post, comments and the fab article. We desperately need this kind of open dialogue in South Africa. There are so many labels and boxes of many sizes here. Every one of them hateful, denigrating, oppressing, crushing the liberty, freedom and joy of life that should be ours. We are bound, chained, shackled, blindfolded, gagged, tarred and feathered for race, colour with all the varying shades thereof too, culture, traditions, religion, non-religion, faith, sexual persuasion, marital status, societal position, vocation, profession, job, education - including which school/college/university you attended, speech pattern, language, age, sex, and more. I wish people could come together to talk, ask questions, get to know the beautiful differences we have. They are only facets of a stone, revealing the brilliance and beauty and purity inside that piece of rock.

Then again, I know we are not alone in this world. Many countries with diverse populations have the same. It's one time that being part of the norm is completely abhorrent to me.

Long may our differences be evident, but I pray that the time will come when those differences are simply, and only, a thin veneer to the sameness and unity that binds us as one. x@

Yeah...viva vibrato...and maybe even a touch of tremolo,,,ha ha!

I'm all for Vibrato!!!lol ; )

Viva Vibrato!!

Hey Richie, acoustic is what I play the most in practice, then when I move to the electric...it's SO easy! ;~)) This story echoes of vibrato!

Sounds very acoustic to me!!

Thanks Michelle, that is 'stereotypical' of the 'medical' profession. Some doctors even have codes for if you have a ''tattoo'' and countless other things they don't like to see in their waiting room. Codded ''bias'' or those ''unfavorable'' types that shouldn't be there. Doctors don't know what the word ''normal'' is because it is counterproductive to their bank account. Modern medicine is one of the biggest labeling industries on earth, because with each label they can make up...out of the thin air, then soon comes an expensive ''drug'' and a permanent return customer. It is such a huge sham!!

I think so JJ but its been a while sense I've been tested...lol. Thank you both for your kind comments. No one likes to be 'pigeon holed'..,..eh?

Thanks for your comment Mark. Seems that if your ''half' of anything, bigotry will take advantage of the less favored half in a socially designed culture of ''bias' and favoritism and use it against you. They call Obama 'black' but don't mention he is 'half' ...''white''! That is meant to 'lower' him in a racially bent society. I would imagine you will get the bitter taste of bias entering Yale, as it is a white dominate University as is Harvard and many others. Just shine it on and don't attend bad behavior, as it just stimulates more of it. Those who spread or stimulate bigotry usually get it in their face sooner or later. Karma!

Yes, its funny how all types of labels effect us, and it seems like everything and everyone has one that puts a stop sign up. I had an experience several months ago where I mentioned to a female friend the size of my Levy's ...its easy, 32-W 32-L....I weigh 150 lbs, and suddenly I heard total silence over the phone. She really clammed up, and I thought how strange but didn't say anything. Later I found out that she was embarrassed and ashamed to say her measurements. When she told me that, I felt hurt for her. This was in fact who I've always felt to be a thin and very fit woman, and really...she had no reason to feel ashamed, but society puts such pressure on ...mostly women, that even ''one'' inch makes them embarrassed. Thats really sad, and it should stop. Everything you see on TV is about 'looks' and the models they use are impossible to imitate.



Thanks for your interesting view SWEETGYPSYROSE.

Hi my friend , I was just thinking about how destructive "labelling" can be : scenario :



A woman walks into a department store and goes looking for jeans ~ she grabs a pair with a ' label ' stating the size she thinks she is , and thinks they will fit ; she tries to put them on and realises they just won't fit.But she's loathe to get the next size up , and leaves , disheartened , and thinking this : FAT.



We girls do this all the time ~ to our detriment. SIZE is a label , like any other , which is all too often the starting point for eating disorders and low self esteem ~ what is a number , but another means of boxing us in ~ or keeping us out of the boxes we so desperately want to fit into?



The need for acceptance and the powerful drives that motivate our thinking play the larger part in this kind of social conditioning ~ much to the detriment of the human race.



Girls ~ just get the jeans that fit and make you feel good , please! Chop out the damned labels and be done with it.

Dog food...great analogy! Yes, that is a good thing to teach teens, or even younger, before the labels are part of the teen culture. You can rip the label off, but it can just as easily be stuck back on. Someone besides you needs to rip the label off...or stop using them. I'd rather eat dog food than be dog food, but neither after digested! ha ha Thanks for your great comment Meeka....;~))

Quadtypical? That sounds 4 times worse...well, unless you break it up into Suroundtypical. But thats not stereotypical...[!?!]



Yes Tzech, we need to stop the pendulum from swinging so far right and left, as thats never shown to improve matters, and pulling together to support one another instead of forming little paranoid groups which works well....for our enemy, and against us. Fitting into a box is the problem, not the answer. We should clime out of the box and all stand together, as one people...Americans in the US, and Earthlings of the world. It seems a primeval act to become territorial and join little gangs like cavemen. Now is the time for our countries 'people' to came together. Idealism from a realist? No, just a vision from a realistic visionary. ;~))

Wow. Y'all really should upgrade to 'quad'. The sound is phenomenal.



Society is like a pendulum. It swings back and forth. We are approaching a peak right now. When the economics slow, and/or there is sustained war, people in general become afraid. This shows itself in many ways. They become territorial, and defensive. Hoarding to one degree or another. They label others as acceptable, or unacceptable/less than.



I don't personally fit in a box, and I don't find safety in one. But I can almost understand how others can. This is where our society, in general, is today. Small comfort that it will slowly begin to swing back.

What??? You're not afraid of cats? Shoot - and I thought I have you pegged.

Hmmmm...LV, you might need to be tested. Do you sometimes hear sounds out of both ears at the same exact time? Were your mother or father stereo's? These are the questions the testers will ask, though you have the right not to be tested. They haven't made it 'mandatory'...yet! lolCool to be a stereo too! Just not a typical stereo! ..;~))

I totally agree, I hate being labeled as well,



But sometimes I think I am stereo!

Yap, it's only getting worse... People should really read this, they would see there's more to life than just their own beliefs...and they would maybe open their heart to others around them.

Thanks Sophie, we are sure moving away from acceptance and seem to be making more and more judgments toward others these days. I wish everyone would read this thread and comment. We desperately need to start a dialog on this subject.

We are all different & unique individuals, wish more people would accept that and stop labeling everyone.

Thanks for sharing this articleMM, you're right everyone should read it!....maybe they would learn to accept others as they are instead of judging them.

Gryfnn, thank you for your statement and opening the door to another expression. I'm big on keeping our unique qualities, being individuals of our own choosing, and think that diversities are the spices that make the world the extremely interesting place it is. I suppose its finding a spice thats palatable to everyone, and continuing to communicate for better understanding of one another. This miraculous machine all of us are on right now, along with the Internet is the first time in human history that the entire world can talk to one another, get to know and understand one another...accept one another, and we are only infants in the new found worldwide communication grid. Its really a new beginning for all of us if we use it properly.

The following article is a piece from Caroline Myss book and is a very interesting read. Below is 1 of 3 parts that I'll add to this group as we go along. Please read and comment....



Transcending Tribal Mentality - By Caroline Myss



All of us are born into a “tribal mentality” of various forms. These include our family unit, religious background, country of origin, ethnicity, etc. The tribal mentality effectively indoctrinates an individual into the tribe’s beliefs, ensuring that all believe the same. The structure of reality – what is and is not possible for the members of the group – is thus agreed upon and maintained by the tribe.



While the tribal mentality has definite benefits in terms of establishing common ground and ensuring group survival, it is not a conscious agreement. We are born into it. Yet at a certain stage, both personally and collectively, the tribal mentality must be challenged. People can then begin to recognize the need for a personal honor code independent of the tribe. If humanity is to progress, we need to learn how to treat everyone – regardless of tribal affiliation – with honor and respect.



Every one of us is plugged into the tribal mind. We support tribal belief patterns by directing a percentage of our life force into maintaining our affiliation with the tribe. This involves an implicit agreement to think like the tribe thinks, to evaluate situations and people the way the tribe does, and to believe in right and wrong according to tribal values and ambitions. As long as the tribal mentality within us remains unexamined, we unwittingly subject others to our tribal laws.

When we are plugged into tribal thought forms, we can easily believe in nonsensical prejudices held by the tribe. Tribal mentality allows us to hold harsh, judgmental positions or attitudes about an entire group of people: “All fat people are lazy,” or “all Irish are drunks,” or "all Muslims are terrorists" for example.



A rigid tribal thought form may have little truth to it, but individuals hold to such beliefs because that perspective is what the tribe has agreed to believe. Innocent children, born into the hatred and prejudice of their parents and ancestors, grow up inside a tribal mentality that sponsors an endless march toward war against the tribe's perceived enemies. People grow up hating other people – people they have never seen – based on group affiliation. This is the shadow side of the tribe.



Inevitably, some among us come to a point where we want to break out of the inflexible tribal mentality. At some point, these individuals want to explore, develop, and manage their own consciousness without the judgments and limitations of the tribal mind.



It is easy to spot these mavericks when they start to question and unplug from tribal mentality – they hang out on the periphery looking bored and restless, or whimsical and dreamy. Others may act out the agitated hot-head as they challenge tribal ways.



The unspoken assumption of the tribal mind is that everybody loves being part of the tribe. And in many ways, we do. Knowing where and to whom we “belong” is crucial to our self-concept and sense of safety in the world. Yet when we begin the real deep journey of questioning, “What do I believe?” and start to individuate from the tribe, we often enter a dark night of the soul. It is, by necessity, a passage we take alone.



It's one thing to reject what we don't want to believe anymore. It's quite another to begin to explore what we do believe. All we know as we enter the dark night is that we can't go back – even when the tribe is the only world we’ve ever known.



At this critical point in our development, the tribe doesn't feel right anymore. It no longer offers us comfort. Previous feelings of security and familiarity begin to feel like a trap constraining our individuality and hampering our efforts to discover deeper levels of who we really are.

This dark night passage pushes us to look at our false gods – the tribal belief patterns in which we've become invested and to which we've given our allegiance.

Yes Gryf, labels are all encompassing! They group people into little pods with a tattoo saying...this is 'me'! Like you say, if you claim to be Catholic, they 'think' that they know 'you', or your 'individual' beliefs, when in reality, not only are beliefs an individual thing and can't be put into a ''one-size-fits-all category, but in fact the 'label' has robbed you of your own personal and individual identity. Hmmm...so why use the 'label'? Why the need to 'belong' to any 'belief system"? The 'spiritual' perspective is no different than if you use a 'political' perspective and call yourself a Liberal or Conservative. Immediately your thrown into a little box, and it has no windows or doors, and you might be there for life.



So...one of the questions would be, why do people keep volunteering for the box. What advantage is there to using the 'label', when at any given time, one label seems a 'better' label than the other. The box of theory or philosophy can sometimes stick you there for life, when in actuality, the meaning of the 'label' has changed and no longer resembles the original.



Gryf >>> it is unrealistic to expect folks from different cultures to share your perspective.....In many ways each of us is a complete mystery to anyone else--simply because each of us always sees from a unique point of view.



Moss>>> Hmmmm...I would like to reiterate my friend Gryf.



I certainly don't wish for humanity to loose its 'uniqueness' or diversity, as I feel thats the spice of the human existence, but I don't think its unrealistic to understand, tolerate, accept or even 'adapt' to other cultural perspectives, because in fact we have been doing exactly that for centuries, especially the past 2 centuries and it can be seen all over the world.



In fact, and maybe not to my liking, the world has not only accepted, but adapted to the Western Culture. If you look at Mammals, you will find an extremely adaptable species, and humans are by far the most quickly adaptable creatures on earth. To look at our 2000 year past v/s our 200 year past, there's no doubt that we are very adaptable and progressive in that adaptation, if only given the chance.



In my lifetime, I've witnessed huge social changes in the way people think, or psycho-socially. We need to look very hard at what tribal mentalities and traditions are holding us back to advance as a ''civilization. I'll post a very good article that addresses some of those issues and I hope everyone reads it a gives feed back for discussion.



Thanks to everyone for your kind comments!

Great thought! So you sound the same on both sides? Remember, some of the best music recorded was in monotone.

How wise you are Music Mouse. The problem with labels is that people think they know what a word means. For instance, if I say I'm a Catholic...people think they know what I believe---even though they know very little if anything about Catholicism ---it's the same with any belief system.

If you put a name to it--right away people think they know what you believe---all they know is some hearsay, or propaganda ---that has little if anything to do with an individual's spiritual experience. Still, each of us is very much influenced by the culture that we are born into......it is unrealistic to expect folks from different cultures to share your perspective.....In many ways each of us is a complete mystery to anyone else--simply because each of us always sees from a unique point of view.

Yeah...I haven't been to Earth-Lings either, but then...there's no one there...ha ha ha! There's a few Earthlings on Funny 0r Die....but I'm ''not'' one of them! ROFL.



jojewel, I had my sound man test me with a digital sound monitor and he couldn't pick up a micro-tone worth the difference on the left or right, but did find a slight variation in my center. I speculated it was a fluctuation in the gravitational pulse because it was August, and I was facing northeast. I was never spectrometered though! In hindsight, I should have been true north. My bad! ha ha ha!

Yes, I agree, earthlings!

That reminds me, my earthLings page...I haven't been there in a while, but I did go to Funny or Die! hahaha

Thanks Sappy!



Yeah...box is a good word for it. Sometimes it doesn't have windows or doors and is impossible to escape from. A cold dreary place where no living creature should have to try to exist. There are countless people around the world that live in the dark little box every day, and they shouldn't be. Seems lately I hear yet another 'label' that stimulates hate or dislike toward someone to put them in the box of social nonacceptance and disfranchise. Even though you have to live it to truly understand it, people could simply stop separating the world by their petty labels. We are all only humans! Earthlings!

Are you sure you sound the same on both sides???

You are right, mix bias with ignorance and BAM-explosive situations occur.