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Going Native: Rejecting the “Expat” Label

Strictly speaking, yes I am an expatriate, but I cringe when I am referred to as an “expat” — the colloquial shortened form of the word.  I am not quite sure why this is.  It could be that I do not like to be associated with some of the negative connotations that have come to be associated with several “ex-pat” communities; or if I know consider myself to be a proper European who can live anywhere in Europe — or something else entirely.

Yes, I was born in the UK, raised in the UK, and still have a UK passport.  My coloring and skin type is most definitely English, as is my language.  However, now I have moved here and have little or no intentions of returning to the UK to live I think I am evolving into something else — something more than an expat!

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The Definition of Reverse Racism

We all know, and can generally identify, what “Racism” is and what it means and how it hurts all of us — but what is that thing some people call “Reverse Racism?”

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Does Changing the Label Change the Context?

If you change the label of a concept, is the context forming the underlying concept changed as well — or is the concept always the same no matter the name?

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Curse of the Common Name

Do you suffer from the “Curse of the Common Name” Common Nameor are you one of those blessed with a truly unique name that identifies you before anyone actually meets you?

I’ve always hated the name “David” because it was so common.

I much preferred “Keith” growing up but I never had the gumption to insist others actually refer to me by that name.

My father wanted to call me “Rocky” but my mother demanded the ordinary safe “David” harbor to the extraordinary rough shore. I’m not thrilled with the idea I was almost a Rocky, but anything is better than the “beloved” David.

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Labeling Disease: Fibromyalgia as Hypochondria

Yesterday, we discussed the importance of doctors loving their patients and today I want to turn our eye to the responsibility of the patient in the medical dyad, especially those patients that demand to label their illness — even if one does not exist — for their imagined sickness. It isn’t enough today to just be sick.

Continue reading → Labeling Disease: Fibromyalgia as Hypochondria