Picky Picky Picky

It's only been recently that people have assumed that I'm Jewish. It started a few years ago and I don't know why. The assumption has never been made by someone who is Jewish. And of course, when I ask someone why they think I am Jewish, there is a rapid bit of, "uh, ooh, um," as they try to avoid engaging in any (further) stereotyping. Sometimes, it has been suggested that it is my black glasses (which also get me called a hipster), which I find completely ridiculous.

One friend offered the explanation that when people meet new people they try and classify them as a way to understand them. They try to find a label or a handle for a person.

I hope this isn't true.

I think this is what really makes me bristle at being called a snob or what makes everyone bristle at being called a hipster. It is just so dismissive. "I've got you pegged, buddy. I know all I need to know about you." Once you've been labeled, you're no longer seen as an individual. You're just a type. You've been put into a little box and can easily be written off. For example, once you've decided someone is a crybaby, you no longer need to listen to their complaints. After all, they're just a crybaby.

But, you know, they might just have a legitimate problem.

To quote Kierkegaard, "Once you label me, you negate me." And nobody likes to be negated (and if anybody is wondering where that little bit of wisdom came from, the answer is yes, I heard it first from Wayne's World).

I may be a music snob, or a hipster, or (with that adoption a few generations back) even a little bit Jewish, but, really, I'm so much more than that.