Feel'n Trapped?

Most likely you've been categorized and you know it. Everyone, whether they admit to doing it or not, classifies, categorizes, and groups others. The motivation to do so varies - ego, perceived safety, some comfort level, preservation, etc.

Religion and politics are the greatest. The most recent epidemic of this behavior has been political. Is that person Republican, Democrat, Independent, left-wind, right-wing, no-wing, red state, blue state, extremist (attached to the previous), etc. Then there are religious groupings. I remember as a kid being taken to a new church - the first lines from greeters would be something like "What church did you go to?" Even as a kid I knew we were about to get classified. If you didn't come from the same church branch then prepare for the appropriate indoctrination to the "right" belief.

If you wear more than 2 piercings on your head you must be |this|. If you are a guy with piercings then you must be |that|, especially if those piercings are not in view (ouch). If you are a woman then you certainly must not be |whatever|. Lately I've sensed that women are beating guys up more and more on TV - yikes! So now I find myself classifying women as attack-types or not! (The other day my babe went Tasmanian Devil on me just because I scared her) You meet someone the first time and they ask where you live - most likely they want to classify you - maybe they need to know if you're from somewhere better than where they live. Some people are into asking about your education level - probably to rate themselves (vain) - and if they happen to be higher than you watch out - you'll then hear all their academic accomplishments. (I really need to finish my masters thesis.)

I may frustrate people since I don't let myself get classified so easy. If asked about my education I usually respond with something like "I don't believe in education labeling". Throws 'em off fast! Political activists hate people like me since I'm not owned by any political party. Do I categorize? Of course - it's obvious from my previous posts. I do try to have only one large wall - the one that separates the good people from the bad people. I think making and/or reading blogs help punch holes through walls, don't you?