gulley@stolaf.UUCP (William T. Gulley) (04/01/84)
I very much agree with you, Farzin, that the act, whether
conciously or unconciously, of putting roles on people
does a great disservice to their individuality. But don't
you think that, in many cases, that injustice is self-
inflicted? I mean, don't a lot of people *choose* to be
bound by those roles because it promises a greater oppor-
unity of acceptance by others? (Not to mention that they
can sometimes be fun to use in a somewhat playful fashion-
when being just little ol' you gets tiresome)
It's not only unfortunate, but sometimes tragic, that it has
gotten to be such a knee-jerk reaction (me included) to
pigeonhole so many people. (me included) Maybe some psycho-
logists would say that it's "natural", but I'm more inclined
to think that it's merely a product of laziness; getting to
know someone as a complex individual takes more effort than
automatically assigning him/her a role. Why should it be
such a bother to just accept that most people you know are
much more than you think they are? If this is such a human
impulse, why does it end up being so de-humanizing to others?
As an aside: I've found it always curious that, in this
almost-ERA era, that it is seen as much more uncouth for
a man to have romantic relationships with several women, than
it is for a woman to have romantic relationships with several
men. It seems even more curious to be, when I take into
account the stereotypical role of men as being the "go-getters"
in relationships. If it's true what many sociologists and
psychologists are saying, that most men are currently undergoing
an identity crisis as to their roles in society as men, all
I can say is, No wonder!.
Sorry, no answers from here, just a LOT of questions-
____
UM YA YAAA!!
Man, that felt great. .
William Gulley - St. Olaf College - Northfield, Minnesota
. .!inhp4!stolaf!gulley