Can you remember someone calling you something that really hurt you? Or have you recently experienced someone calling you a name that negatively impacted you?
You’re not alone. Labeling has become a huge issue in our society.
“Pathetic, ugly, fat, loser…” this list of labels and other derogatory words are often heard by millions of those in our generation every day. To help combat the issue and ignite change, the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio recently released a powerful video showcasing the devastating impact of labeling.
WATCH: #RethinkLabels
The video gives a unique look into what many of us go through and how these experiences can form who we become. An Ohio-based video production company, Goldfarb Weber Creative Media, created the video after being approached by the center.
“With major negative racial and gender labeling of groups of people happening in this country, we wanted to produce a hard hitting video that would start the discussion of rethinking the way we label people,” Goldfarb Weber Creative Media CEO and co-founder, Tony Weber told RIZZARR. “Nobody is born a bigot, it is a learned character flaw, and it can be unlearned.”
Weber and his team interviewed high school students who were participating in a retreat hosted by the center. Weber’s co-founder, who is the president of Goldfarb Weber Creative Media, told Ohio’s the Plain Dealer Newspaper that they had asked the students to talk about the worst things they had been called. Student after student revealed the most hurtful labels they had given.
The pain that the labeling caused was raw and real. For example, during the video, one teen tears up after talking about being called an ‘Oreo,’ and another teen gets very emotional after recounting how a store owner called him the ‘n-word.’
“We knew that we would get honest, straight from the heart answers,” Weber told RIZZARR. “We wanted to show the hate speech and hurtful labels that they are called and how it chip’s away at their self esteem, incite violence and erode the public good. We wanted to show that this is not the world that we want our kids to live in.”
Weber and his team also wanted to show that when we use supportive and nurturing words, we can all thrive in a more positive world. Consequently, when the students were asked about the best things they had been called, the positive impact that those labels had on their self-esteem and belief in themselves was evident. It significantly demonstrated the power of positive labeling and why we need to ignite more of it.
The video made its debut at the Diversity Center’s Humanitarian Awards dinner late last year, and has since inspired many to create a #RethinkLabels movement.
“These kids are thrilled to be part #RethinkLabels,” Weber said. “They are part of a movement to live in a better world and are taking what they learned form the Diversity Center’s programming back to their high schools, families and neighborhoods.”
Due to the impact of video’s powerful message, many educators have asked the Diversity Center to use it. The center has also started a new program based around the video. Additionally, the video has been shared all across the world.
When asked how he believes the video can be used to combat labeling, Weber said: “It can start a dialogue for a better way our society can live and treat each other. We need to stop fearing groups of people we don’t know and start seeing the world through their eyes. We all need to watch the words we use everyday. #Rethinklabels is a life choice for seeing the good in people and we hope that everyone that sees it will pay this message forward.”
In the near future, Weber and his team plan to make a sequel interviewing the same students about how they were able to implement what they learned about labeling and how it made a difference in their situations.
Need A Massage? Learn How To Give One To Yourself And Your Loved Ones
Receiving a massage, whether it’s given by someone else or self-administered, can help loosen your muscles and establish a better connection not only with your body but also with the people you love.
