Let’s play a game, shall we?
- I’m a redhead.
- I’m Irish.
People who haven’t been through leadership training might think that those three lines said something meaningful. They may think that I just said:
- I have an explosive temper.
- I love drinking and storytelling.
- I love corned beef and cabbage.
- St. Patrick’s Day is a High Holy Day for me.
In point of fact, only one of the above is strictly true.* Everything else is wild speculation based on pure GLOP – General Labeling Of People.
If you’re looking to step in a giant puddle of GLOP, you won’t have to look far. It’s literally everywhere, increasingly, it seems. News, blogs, daily conversation. When you become aware of the crushing number of labels out there used to dismiss, minimize, criticize, or marginalize people, you’ll realize we’re drowning in them. While I learned about the dangers of broad labels as early as my freshman year in college, it was leadership training that crystallized how often people latch onto labels. It’s election season: How many times in recent weeks have you heard these labels used in political ads or opinion pieces?
- Fundamentalist
- Homosexual
- Tea-partier
- Liberal
- Environmentalist
- Trial lawyer
- Incumbent
- Conservative
- Witch
It works the other way, too. GLOP isn’t exclusively tied to negative judgments. There can be shiny, happy GLOP. If you’re a Mom, for instance, you’re probably inclined to think kindly of other Moms. (That’s why the internet is littered with goofy little ads that say things like, “Local Mom Discovers Secret to Losing Belly Fat!” Somebody thinks that’ll get more attention–and money–than “Wonky Scientists Admit The Only Way To Lose Weight Is To Stop Eating So Much.”)
Back to my GLOP – and why it told you absolutely nothing about me.
Yes, I’m a redhead. A decided redhead. Which means one day back in my early twenties, I decided to become a redhead, and a staggering number of toxic chemicals applied to my head once a month keeps me that way. Had I had an explosive temper before I became a redhead, nobody would have thought it was due to my rats’-derriere-greige hair, would they? And yet the stereotype of the “fiery redhead” venting her fury is out there in the wild.
That stereotype probably has something to do with being Irish, as most natural redheads are Irish, and the Irish have a reputation for having quick tempers. Oh, and for enjoying fighting, drinking, and storytelling. I’ll cop to the booze and the spinning of yarns, but those have nothing to do with my Irish-ness.
“But, Denise, you just said you’re Irish and you love drinking and storytelling. How can you say they’re not related?” you may be wondering.
I can say they’re not related because I’m genetically Irish. But I was raised by Italians and Slovaks. So there. (They all had tempers, too, so I’m not sure why the Irish get the bad rap.) I’m more a fan of tortellini and pierogi than potatoes and cabbage, and the only way you’ll get me to eat corned beef is to tell me it’s pastrami. St. Patrick’s Day is a perfect opportunity NOT to go out to a bars or drink green beer–I’d rather be snug on my sofa with a glass of Chardonnay, thanks.
So, there you have it. A couple of quick demonstrations of the kinds of erroneous judgments GLOP can cause on a one-person scale. Multiply that by a few people on a work team, or even a few billion people on the planet.
Is it any wonder one of the most quoted movie lines ever is…”What we have here is a failure to communicate”?