By joining this site you have made a choice which makes a statement about your religious ideology. Would I be correct in assuming you are non religious?

I disagree. Without categories....we can't know who stands for what and whose ideologies are malevolent and whose are benign. We need to know who people are and what they embrace.

I agree. We are all human. I, myself, am other things as well and it is none of my business what other people label themselves as or not. I do have a problem with people putting labels on other people or trying to fit them into a box. I place labels upon myself because they are useful for describing my stance for conversations in the public sphere. They do have purpose and if I am to engage in that conversation, whatever it may be, I most of the time have an opinion or am trying to form one. This typically puts me into a category and with categories, come labels, as I don’t think you can have a category without one, and if I read a word that describes my position/beliefs or lack of, then I have no problem using that word to describe myself. Now so far as you, yourself, or anyone else for that matter not wanting to use labels or be labeled, you’ll get no argument from me. You live and do you, whatever way you need to in order to live a happy and fulfilled life.

Labels are real and they are not on their own good nor evil, they simply are. Sometimes people use them for good and other times people are malicious with them, but inherently humans are social animals. There are ~8 billion of us and groups in actuality can help us bond and form relationships with others who are like-minded or share interests. In reality I read once that a leader shouldn't be in charge of more than ~150 people specifically because of the exponentially increasing difficulty in remembering details about them and hindering the relationship.

Take it for what it's worth, but there are very few things on this planet only usable for good or evil. Most exist only at the whim of the wielder.

I am just a yeti!

Very good point. One downside to the English language is that we have to identify our being with various trivial characteristics. We say, “She is a schizophrenic” as though that is all she is. Or “he is blond”. “Yeah, it’s a weird looking animal. I was wondering what the heck it was and that’s it: a blond”. Not all languages have it so.

BTW, if you are in Germany and it is a hot day, never ask a German woman if she is hot. (Sind sie heiss?) I don’t know the correct phrasing, but the above means, “Are you in heat?”

Another point is that in all those categories you mentioned, they are not opposites, but we are supposed to act and speak as though they were. A Republican is not the opposite of a Democrat. A liberal is not the opposite of a conservative. And also IMO, an atheist is not the opposite of a theist—a non believer is not the opposite of a religious person. You can have characteristics of each side.

Great post.

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

Given this rant, I find your name ironic....

Labelism is real. The day humankind understands there’s no such thing, this world will be a more breathable place.