Bad Reputations
People are giving their labels and flags a bad rap
I drove past a sign that was rainbow-colored and caught myself having a very quick negative gut reaction. I love the rainbow. My parents had Rainbow Brite for my birthday when I was younger, and even as an adult I chose a Fitbit clockface I would imagine Rainbow Brite would use if she had a smartwatch. I also love taking pictures of rainbows after storms and even sundogs in the winter. Rainbows never used to be associated with anything negative for me.
But, recently, I’ve seen rainbow-colored signs mostly associated with people who would call you a transphobe simply for not wanting children to be indoctrinated with gender ideology. Worst of all, it’s now associated with the mutilation and drugging of children to fit gender stereotypes I thought we were well past as a society.
Seeing the Rainbow flag everywhere and how it’s now connected with this new gendered-souls belief system sometimes makes me feel as if our country is in the hands of religious zealots.
A Bad Reputation
Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain
I don’t want to talk a lot about the bible here, but I will say many people have no idea what the bible says about taking the lord’s name in vain. They think it means swearing. If only people actually knew what it really meant. Well, I wrote about it here: Coming in our Father’s Name, Praying & Baptizing in Jesus’s Name.
Proverbs 30:7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is YHWH? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Long story short it means to sin and claim your God is the God of the bible. If you sin, then you’re giving God a bad reputation. You claim He’s almighty but he can’t stop you from sinning. Well, no one is going to respect that weak-ass God you claim.
Acting Inappropriately Gives You a Bad Reputation
The people who yell transphobe as a slur inappropriately are giving the rainbow a bad reputation. People are no longer going to be respectful towards the rainbow flag (or what it used to represent) if the people waving it aren’t respectful of them.
When I hear or see someone call themselves a feminist I have an immediate negative gut reaction. Too many feminists, if not all of them, are literally just man-haters. The hate turns me off. I can’t respect people who are sexist or racist or otherwise prejudiced against people in this manner.
Why Am I Talking About This?
Refuse Labels
I suppose I just think people should be wary of accepting labels that are connected with these disrespectful acts because you will likely get negative associations with them even if they’re undeserving in your personal case. I don’t really see the benefit of using the rainbow flag any longer since it’s been taken over by the trans community. I frankly don’t see the benefits of using the term feminist either. You don’t need a label or flag to promote good in this world. I do realize some people will have an identity crisis if they stop identifying with a label. But it’s worth going through to find out who you truly are without being stuck in a box.
Examine Case-By-Case
I am very aware that my reactions may be undeserved so I question if this particular instance is associated with the things I dislike or not. I’ll evaluate in a case-by-case manner. However, other people will not. So, if you’re one of those people, I can suggest, at the very least, being open-minded to being wrong once in a while. For all I know the rainbow flags I saw this morning were from a Christian group or just from someone who loves rainbows. It didn’t even affect me in any way besides making for interesting thoughts about this topic. Don’t catastrophize meanings for things. Be mindful of your reactions and ask yourself if the reaction was actually deserved or not.
Have a Good Reputation
If you are trying to put yourself out there as some label, like “justice warrior” etc., then you should be very careful about not being a hypocrite and giving your label a bad reputation. The mainstream news, Dr. Fauci, the medical community, fact-checkers and more all have such a bad reputation these days. Trust in them is just dying. It takes a very short period of time to lose your reputation, but a very long time to build it up again.
Guard it with your life. Be good.
I enjoy reading your thoughts. I agree about labels - I've gone through a series of them and am finally learning to keep my identity as label-free as possible. Keep writing, my friend.
When you think about it, the rainbow represents segregation.