Time to drop the labels - WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS
Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Do you know what? I should always go with my instincts. I
wrote Beyond the Past as a romance then changed it half way through to a
mystery then it was classed as a crime book, well actually romance/crime. I
should have gone with my gut and classed it as a romance but you live and
learn. I fell into the trap of listening to people who I thought were ‘experts’
in the book world. I’m not arrogant enough to think I know everything but I should
trust my instincts.
This got me to thinking – AGAIN.
I hate genres, labels, categories or segregation. I’m sorry
if that offends people in the world but I do. We are our own worst enemies. Who
set the boundaries in the first place? Who said one particular book should be
this way or that way and crime shouldn’t have romance in and romance shouldn’t
have crime or mystery in? I must not have got that memo.
Why is it we are so obsessed with labelling everything? Not
just books but people too. One thing that really drives me insane is, if we are
an equal opportunity society, why do we ask for people’s religion, race and
sexuality on forms? Surely by doing this you are immediately segregating
people! If all is equal then it doesn’t matter.
We need to stop trying to put everything in neat little
boxes and labelling them. The books I write I want people to enjoy. I can
honestly say I didn’t give the genre too much thought with this first book, I
wish I had but when you don’t think labels are ‘the norm’ you don’t put them at
the top of your priority list. However it is an extremely useful lesson I have
learned and thank the reviewers for pointing it out. I will think carefully
about the categories of my future books.
Over the years I believe we have become so set in being
trained that everything has to belong to a certain group or they are out casts
to society – ironically, another label! Just think about this for a moment.
From the minute we are born we are labelled, through school - labelled, in work
- labelled and even in death!
When people talk to me about how society should be I
politely ask them to explain to me ‘the norm’. Why do we constantly measure
ourselves up against this ‘norm’. Why are we told to conform to the ‘norm’?
Nothing good EVER comes out of trying to compare one person’s life with
another. For example, I don’t drink, the money I have is spent on my children
and I resent going out spending £80+ on one night out. On the other hand I have
friends who moan if they are stuck in on a Saturday night with their children.
Which is the norm? In my view neither of us are wrong, we are just different. We
should celebrate difference not run in the opposite direction or throw insults
or demean people just because they don’t follow the same path as ourselves. We
should embrace that people choose different paths and that doesn’t make them
wrong.
I am a strong believer that books, people, attitudes,
behaviour cannot be labelled and that the ‘norm’ does not exist. For example, it is the ‘norm’ for some people to criticise, berate and ridicule people yet in
our house it is the 'norm' to be supportive of all in whatever field they choose. Likewise,
in our house we don’t believe we have more rights because of the colour of our
skin or because generations of our family were born here in Leeds. Whenever I hear the media use the phrase ‘third
generation Muslim’ it makes me so cross. Someone born in England is English,
THAT simple. Their religion is IRRELEVANT. Likewise the label ‘single parent’
which is used in a demeaning manner in the world. Why? By the very definition
it means the parent has taken responsibility for their child, not abandoned
them. Surely the criticism should be pointed to the non-existent parent? The
one that abandoned their responsibility. As a human race we are so quick to
pass judgement without looking at the real issues or circumstances and that
leads to inequality and prejudice.
This is my point. As a human race we allow labelling,
segregation, stereo typing. Out of that comes prejudice, followed by some with
hatred. I really don’t think we have learned much from the atrocities of
seventy years ago. Until such time as we accept we are wrong in attaching
labels we will never be in a position to tackle prejudice, racism and
radicalism. In my opinion, political correctness, along with injustice and fear
of being able to speak openly have contributed to prejudice, bigotry and racism. They are not the sole causes but they have contributed to it. The only way to eradicate
these from society is being able to openly discuss and debate the issues. It is
a human race, global issue NOT separated by borders, language, race or religion.
I was watching Sky News this week as I often do when I am
writing – usually as background noise. The ordination of Libby Lane was on in
the background. I counted in the space of three minutes the reporter mentioned
the world ‘female’ sixteen times!! Now here is where I have the issue. For
equality to stand, we need to stop using words like female or male as
description. Libby Lane is a Bishop. She’s worked hard, made lots of sacrifices
in her life to get where she is but NEWSFLASH – ALL BISHOPS do regardless of
their gender!! She will never be known as the Bishop who gave her all for her
faith but as the first FEMALE Bishop! LABELS!
Politicians argue religion causes wars. It is not the
religion that causes the war but the intolerance of some to accept other peoples’
beliefs AND the actions of some to IMPOSE their beliefs on others rather than
accepting difference. Politicians have a responsibility in all that is wrong in
the world too as we all do.
In order to stop sexism, racism, homophobia and all that is
holding us back as a human race, we first have to make a conscious effort to
drop the language. Then take positive action to recognise people as people not
as LABELS, educate our young on this basis and then, only then we may start to
redress the inequalities and prejudice.
Prejudice and inequalities are often based on ignorance and
what we are told to believe. I will never forget the image of a child of no
more than six (maybe younger) throwing a Molotov cocktail at the police in
Northern Ireland. When a reporter asked him why, he looked at him with total
disbelief and said ‘because they are scum.’ Or the picture of a very young
football fan with his middle finger stuck up pointing at the opposition
supporters. Who teaches them? They aren’t born with this deep rooted hatred.
Education and open debate are the way forward. Let our children
debate ISIS and their beliefs, however uncomfortable we feel. Let our children debate racism and prejudice
because if we don’t, there is a real danger they will believe all the hype and
rubbish that is written in the media and online and fear breeds prejudice. It
is time we took control of this. I made the conscious effort as a parent to
openly discuss these issues with my children. Wes is studying Nazi Germany and
the Holocaust in his ‘A’ level History and it has been a real eye opener for
him, as it was for me when I studied it. Knowledge is power and most governments are happy with an apathetic electorate that believe everything that his
spoon fed to them. We are all responsible for challenging government policy and trying to change the world and not just by voting on election day. I also feel it is my responsibility as a parent to arm my
children with the knowledge to combat prejudice and inequality.
Having said all this, I do have to say I was very close to
quitting this week. Life is an uphill struggle for all of us and not made any
easier by prejudice, circumstance and all the other things that are thrown at
us. I have had to do a lot of soul searching to decide whether this life I am
trying to forge is worth the criticism and the sheer brutality of some people.
However, the boys need me AND why should I give up trying to change my career
just because people have a different idea of what is the ‘norm’. I am not
giving up because the world is against me, or so it seems sometimes. I will
continue to educate my boys to be tolerant, embrace difference, diversity,
fight for truth and justice and above all have respect for all human beings
including themselves. Just imagine the sort of world we would be leaving behind
if we all did this for our children. This is how I hope my children see their fellow human beings:
Never underestimate the power of knowledge and books. I take for granted the freedom I have to choose the books I read and the education I have had and my children are having. I want to contribute to changing the world, as an author, a mother but most of all as a human being.
Personal Goal
This week, I am working on a small, personal project and have an open day at a local university for a possible Phd study. Watch this space...
Back to the books
I hope everyone has their best week EVER. It's a new month, so make it count.
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