Categories and Meaning

I find that certain categories appear to be so false that I wonder how it could have any form of salience in the first place. This means that the manner by which things are generalized and particularized- which I mentioned a few days have absolutely no form of meaning to anyone should and can get hold of anyone. This means that anyone whom attempt to attach labels without knowing the meaning of categories is simply engaging with what I can be "emptied categories"- like cups with nothing inside.

The most obvious example would ideology and symbols. Red often signifies communism and revolution and blue represents capitalism, the market-driven economies and conservatism. The difference between is such that is not as simple as wearing something without knowing the meaning behind it.

I noticed that a lot of women- especially those trying to climb the corporate ladder- like to wear black. They associate black with aggression, authority and assertiveness. But what they don't understand that black is the continuum between white and black- which is incidentally on the other end of the spectrum. This means that they are trying to be "evil"- which sane, corporate person would want to associate himself/herself with something so malevolent. Unless, you are in the line professional services like lawyer or even accountants or something dealing forensic or pathological issues- black is not very useful when you are low level manager or middle level executive.

Similarly, I also begin to see that people like to wear green too, if they are unsure of things. Green is associated with the environment, growth and I think bravura. All of these are trying to say that you don't know your things hence please for crying out loud, give me a chance- isn't that a dead giveaway. Besides, environmental issues cannot be separated from your daily lives- and hence if you tell everyone that your wear green because you are environment-friendly- this must means that you are karung guni man or that you work in a farm. Incidentally that don't happen very often in Singapore.

Okay, let us then investigate more common colours like blue, white and grey. You see, the point of the above is tell everyone that 1) you are profit-driven 2) you are pure 3) you are experienced. And your idea of wearing all these is to deliver your ideology, then isn't wearing all these shooting yourself in the foot- if you meet say someone in white for example, since you are should not "profit" from kindness.

I am not saying that colour do not affect psychology, all I am saying is that if you wish to deliver a message by your symbolization, you must at least know what you are talking about right.

Conservatism is associated with modern capitalism since it is to perpetuate the existing order, and hence the idea of say wearing red and passion and delivering profit and success from there- really doesn't seem to gel at all. Unless you believe that money is not important and social equity is more important than everything else. I am not saying that it is wrong- but if want to effect social change, I don't see how fame has got to do with anything. I mean it sounds so altruistic, I am sure there are better avenues right.

This is very interesting. Say, a person working as a cleaner earning $1,000 wears blue and is trying to make ends, you are trying to say that he/she is a lousy capitalist or are you trying to tell him break from "alienation" and removed it's addiction to the "opium of masses"- often religion and community values. I was walking on the train and I noticed people in nice suits, shirts and pants, in full black ensemble, I was wondering whether he worked as a bouncer or he worked as "loan shark runner" or some legal lender. This means that either he is in the repo business or working some illegal environment- how the hell does any respectable capitalist society tells everyone that he is doing something illegal, and making a lot money from it- that is the recipe for disaster right.

The other thing about colours is politics. Opposition and conservatism. This to me I almost find it the most laughable. Who in the right mind would admit that it is the opposition- this means that it has to oppose for the sake of opposing just for the sake of opposition. This applies also to prevailing opinion on any issue non-political in nature like in business or in corporate environment or social ones.

If I oppose because I have to oppose, wouldn't that be good as flipping a coin. This means that all opinion always appeal to a higher ideal otherwise it is not call ideological battle. This is normative- means that there is no right nor wrong, hence there is no opposition or conservatism. It is simply just appealing to different ideals. If you believe in free market capitalism, this means that you want deregulation and believe in efficient market and not because you don't like communism. And f you do as such, this simply emptying your cup and filling whatever crap that you like that's all. And if you believe in social equity and equality, you then think that is an universal ideal for everyone to aspire to be live life to the fullest and not because you think that the market system should collapse.

Soviet Union and US fight during the Cold War not because they fight for ideology- it is more complicated than that- they simply use the ideology to galvanize people that's all. And if you believe in the ideology and really just a common man- I would suggest to take a stand and believe in it and not trying to find fault in the other to justify your own position. States and politicians do that simply because it is a myth that we believed in and which we make sense of the world. On the micro level, I suggest to read up more before one wishes to engage in any intellectual argument.

These few months have opened up my eyes to the ignorance of so many people that I don't know whether to cry or to laugh. The smugness that they display which they believe that they have won ideologically is like flipping coin 10 times and hitting 10 times and believing that they have won, and on the 11th time, when it didn't go their way, the whole world starts collapsing around and they start to blame everyone around them. Each flip is independent of each other, similarly ideology remain ideology simply because no one knows what is right.

There are millions of books justifying each and every position- my suggestion is that if you are really interested in finding out more ideology and intricacies of each culture and political system, it would be to read more, be active about it and engage in some form of discourse. Otherwise, to people who knows, you are like a scarecrow. You are there just scare the birds away. No one really cares what you think.