Subject:
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Re: If you're an AFOL and you know it raise your hand (WAS: Blacksmith Shop)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 19 Dec 2001 00:58:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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6217 times
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Allan Bedford wrote:
>
> > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford writes:
> > > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Allan Bedford writes:
> > > > > In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Ross Crawford writes:
> > >
> > > > > > > Allan Bedford wrote:
> > > > > > > I am NOT an AFOL, I do not find many of the things that make AFOLS giddy • to
> > > > > > > be very interesting to me. I am adult who enjoys 'building' with LEGO.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Adult who enjoys 'building' with LEGO sounds like an AFOL to me.
> > > > >
> > > > > I guess I'm just not fond of labels. If someone else wants to call themself
> > > > > an AFOL I have no problem with that... it's just not for me.
> > >
> > > > But is not "adult who enjoys building with LEGO" as much a label as "adult • fan
> > > > of LEGO"? 8?)
> > >
> > > Is someone who believes in God necessarily a Christian?
> >
> > You miss my point. I am not making a comment as to which best describes you,
> > just that you've said you're not fond of labels, then promptly labelled
> > youself.
>
> I'm still missing your point I think. I don't recall labeling myself with
> anything. I did try to express a description to help folks understand me,
> but I really didn't define a label to attach to it. What label do you see
> that I've called myself?
You called yourself "an adult who likes to build with LEGO". That's a
label. Another label you claim for yourself is "Allan Bedford". I raise
that one to point out that without labels, conversation would be
impossible.
> > The answer to your question is obviously no, but "someone who believes in God"
> > is just as much a label as "Christian".
>
> Ah, I think I might be seeing what you're getting at. Perhaps it's
> semantics, perhaps it's just different ways of seeing the world. I see
> short concise words like AFOL, Christian, genius, artist, geek etc. as
> 'labels'. In a word (or two) they attempt to group together a broad
> collection of people related by one or more common connections. I see words
> like "someone who believes in God" or "an adult who builds with LEGO" as
> simply open-ended descriptions of one aspect of a person or persons. Sorry
> if I appeared to try and paint myself with a label, that was certainly not
> my intent.
And those "labels" are useful. The problem is when folks assume the
entirety about a person from the label or labels which have been applied
to them. Some labels which contribute to who I am:
- German
- Scottish
- American
- Unitarian Universalist
- Model Railroader
- Caver
- AFOL
- Gamer
- Male
- Young Adult (well, not quite any more...)
- Educated
- Red Head
- SF Fan
- Programmer
- Engineer
- New Englander
Your "an adult who builds with LEGO" really doesn't convey that much
different from AFOL (well, it does clarify that you do build, but
doesn't indicate whether you collect or not), in fact, AFOL is more open
ended (since all it says is that you're a fan of LEGO, and you are an
adult, you might build, you might collect, or who knows what else).
Labels (as you define them) can be useful because they convey the same
information with fewer words.
What is wrong is when folks try to misuse labels, either by misapplying
them ("he's gay because he plays with LEGO") or by assuming too much
about the person from a label ("all Muslims are terrorists"). That isn't
what I'm trying to do when I call people who have similar interests in
LEGO as I do AFOLS. All I'm inferring is that you are an adult (which
you have indicated you are) who enjoys LEGO (ok, maybe that's an
assumption, but it sounds like you enjoy building with LEGO).
Frank
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