Labels and brands

Labels and brands

Professions and society train us to ascribe labels or brands on ourselves and others, be it through our socioeconomic status, job, race, gender, or nationality. If the goal is to describe, perhaps labels are harmless; but if we let them influence our biases, then we are doing our society a disservice – hindering our collective flourishing.

Brands are a set of associations or perceptions, but we should be careful that they do not turn into discriminatory self-fulfilling prophecies (e.g., conflating the worth of a person based on how cheap or luxurious their brand is).

In a sense, our labels or branding of others are based on our social constructions of them. And social reality is not necessarily akin to the laws that govern natural or material reality; perceptions can change.

Thus, in this world of impulse and snap judgements, the invitation is to embrace a “rethinking”, “refeeling”, and “reflective” mindset.

Luke 10:25-37. The Good Samaritan: who is my neighbor?

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 191: JULY 10, 2022]