Personally, I do not believe it is possible to be un-identified in the United States. Even if a person does not bring it upon themselves to be in a category, they are still categorized by the people around them. In an ideal world, being un-identified would have a lot of pros. An unidentified person would never have to worry about judgement or stereotypes, eliminating that category of tension from the mind. As a person not bound by stereotypes, one can flourish into anything they desire to pursue in life because nothing would be holding them back. Furthermore, as a person not identified, they could assimilate or fit into any group of people, while ultimately not being held accountable for representing that group for their life. On the other hand, not being identified has cons as well. Being in a group of people, most often similar to yourself whether it is interest or race, creates a security blanket of confidence. Without that group support, or sense of belonging, a person can easily lose that mental strength and backing.
If identity was based on personal interest, and people were grouped according to their interest rather than race and ethnicity, identification would be much more effective in a positive light. Do you guys agree with me? Or do you believe that no sort of identity is better?
I agree with you and enjoy the pros and cons you bring up of being un-identified. I like the idea of being identified and grouped based off of similar interests but that still creates stereotypes and prejudice. For example, all the t.v. show that portray characters in high school are either labeled as: jocks who only wear their Letterman jackets, cool/ popular characters who often are jerks, and a nerdy crowd who tends to be left out. So still, even groups based off of interest still create identification problem. I think more influence needs to be placed on celebrating identifications as well the mixing of identifications, just as people have mixed and diverse interests/
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely, however I think that identity is already based off of so much more than race. People are already identified by personal interests, and even this creates other types of issues in life. I think that eliminating racial identity would only further highlight the other identity issues that we are faced with in society.
ReplyDeleteI am on your side as well and I would further your point by saying that if no identity exists, there would not be any diversity amongst people. People would need to be exact clones of one another with the same interests, ethnicity, and beliefs. Identity is not solely based upon race, albeit it is a large part, but it embodies everything that represents an individual. To take that away is taking away all uniqueness that distinguishes people in society.
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