To my conservative and liberal libertarian friends I am a statist.
To my very conservative republican friends I am this close to an anarchist.
To my very liberal democratic friends I am probably a fascist.
To a few who read my blog yesterday I am a feminist.
To some who found out I didn't vote for Obama in the last election I am a racist.
To a different group because I voted for a woman I am a sexist.
To my vegan friends I am a speciesist.
To some my stance on not being too heavy or too thin means I am a sizist.
To my very religious friends I might as well be an atheist.
To my friends who do not believe in God they are pretty sure I'm a deist, possibly a theist.
To people who see how incredibly attractive my friends are I am a looksist.
To people I correct when they use those words wrong I am an elitist.
And for the rest you can just tack apologist on whatever you want and use that. She's a Clinton apologist. She's an American history apologist. She's a high heel boot apologist.
There are a lot of ists on that list. I'm getting pretty tired of most of them. And it's not just me getting the labels. I see it all the time now. If someone doesn't hold your exact same world view you tag them with an ist and consider it an insult. Even if it's not. I am a feminist, I do believe that women should be on equal footing with men, nothing wrong with that. Not just recently but always. I'm also a humanist. I believe that all people should be treated with kindness and compassion, not just the ones who share your gender. Or socioeconomic background. Or political views. Or race.
The ist phenomenon is lazy. It means you can't be bothered to find out what exactly your difference is with someone, or what exactly it is that is bothering you so you label and move along. Which is what is wrong with so much of our common discourse right now. Nobody wants to take the time to figure out how to find common ground when it is so much easier to tack an ist on it. Democrats wants healthcare for the poor? Well obviously they are socialists. Republicans don't want to talk about history when it comes to budget issues? Well what do you expect they are Bush apologists.
And then no one has to talk to each other they can just sit in their corners and ist at each other instead.
Lazy.
I'm not a complete statist. But I do believe that there is a role for government in society. I don't think a central body should control every tiny thing, but I also don't believe that complete deregulation works. Just as there are good people and bad people in the world they are good companies and bad companies. Laws help us deal with the bad people, regulations help us with the bad companies. I think our problem right now is we have too much money in our political system for it to work properly. And of course the way to fix it and get the money out has to be passed by the very same people it's currently benefiting so...I try not to be a pessimist (my own ist label) where our current government is concerned but it's hard.
I didn't vote for Obama in the last election because I didn't like what he did with his first term. That's what you are supposed to do with politicians. Not this nonsense of debating where they were born or changing their religion. You just don't vote for them. You find someone else to vote for. Doesn't make me racist, sexist or a voter apologist. It just means I followed the procedure the way it was supposed to be followed. Which might make me an elitist.
I am an omnivore. If you decide that makes me a speciesist then okay. I will tuck that one in with feminist as labels that some people think are insulting but I can't really get bent about.
I am closer to a deist or a theist than an atheist. At times. Other times I'm really pretty sure I'm an atheist with a strong sense of family history. And then there are times when I'm pretty sure I believe in everything. What does that make me? And inclusionist?
Sizist and looksist? Maybe. I do think your size is related to your health and that there is a range you should be in to be your best. But I wouldn't set that for you. That's a health decision to be made with a professional not with me. I do have really attractive people around me and maybe that does make me a looksist. Or maybe I just happen to see what I find attractive about each person and focus on that and they aren't as good looking to you as they are to me? Nah, that's crazy. They really are that good looking. Oh! Instead of a looksist I'm an aesthetic.
But mostly I'm an optimist. Because right now I'm hoping that instead of picking apart my examples on what ists have been thrown my way you are considering your own ist tendencies. And you will be less quick to ist someone you disagree with and actually try and understand what they mean. And if you have common ground.
And if all else fails you will be less lazy with your insults and really search for one that fits!
But maybe that just makes me an idealist...
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