I remember the first time the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was introduced to me. An old mentor of mine from childhood who was involved in a program called “Bridges” worked with me to help me find employment awhile after I got back from rehab for the second time, in 2017. I had been back home for several months and Trump had already been declared the new president of the United States. As a quick seguay, I remember seeing the debates between Trump and Hilary on the TV screens in a restaraunt upon my return, just months earlier. It was the talk of the internet to say the least and a major turning point for us all. I remember those times well. I think it was a time when we as a country were trying to figure out who we are and who we wanted to be. We’re probably the oldest teenagers on the planet to be honest!

In any case this woman whom we will refer to as Betsy introduced me to MBTI to help me figure out where I might fit best. As it would turn out, after careful consideration of the questions and my answers to them I scored as an INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving type). Fascinated by this tool, I decided to go home afterwards and do some research into what it meant to be a so-called “INFP” and how that information could potentially help me. It didn’t take much digging to discover that this simple four letter “word” (cause I honestly don’t know what else to call it) had a whole lore behind it. Supposedly I belonged to a group of “ultra special” individuals known as “Intuitive Feeling Types” (abbreviated as “NF’s”). These I came to find out were the MLK’s and Rosa Parks of the world, the Ghandis and so on. I remembered the years of my therapist telling me that I was about four percent of the population but he never expanded on what that meant. Though after researching INFP’s and taking the test several more times and still scoring as one, I got a big headed ego about me.

I started following Youtubers like Erik Thor, learning about the various types and obsessing over my own. I fancied myself a saint of the rarest variety, not yet maturing to the point where I realized that it is what you actually do that earns you merit, not how you are labled or how you label yourself. Doctor Carl Gustav Jung who created the MBTI himself-and had interactions with Bill W. and Doctor Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous fame, said that the MBTI was not the end all be all descriptor of the complex nature of people. Jungian psychology for as interesting as it is has its flaws too, though I’d say Doctor Jung’s greatest contribution was telling Rolland Hazard that “There was nothing he could do to help him and that only a profound spiritual experience would or could be the answer”. As mentioned in my last post, this was a clear case of hopelessness being the solution to a problem as holding onto hope that he alone could solve his problems with drinking was ironically cancerous to any kind of realistic possibility that he might eventually recover. He had to feel that pain and that pain is what we tend to refer to as “Rock Bottom”.

Like donating an old sweater that no longer fit me, I eventually realized that my high opinion of myself was unearned and threw it out only to find other people in pop culture (i.e the internet) put it on and marvel at its gross “beauty”. I started to hear words like “Empath” thrown around some years ago. People I met and would see online over identified with MBTI labels like I used to, using words like “Neurodivergence” almost like a lable of pride for their defects of character. Of course I have a post titled that same thing, though it was for the purpose of testing the response it would get which still feels pretty unclear to this day. It seems we maybe culturally shifting away from labels which I see as a positive thing, but what will take their place?

What about “Cancel Culture” or “Accountability Culture” as some people call it? In some form or another “Cancel Culture” always existed. Take for example Rosie ‘O Donnell’s 1992 Gaffe where she mocked the Chinese while referencing Danny Devito. There was such an outcry of offense at the time that she ended up making a public apology. This pattern has persisted throughout time and is certainly nothing new. Only its prevalence increasing is “new”. I am not here to comment on the ethics of or to defend or condemn Rosie, only to point out the ignorance surrounding the circumstances where there has been public outrage over a perceived offensive comment or action. And to point out that it has always existed to some extent or another.

So how do labels and accountability culture work? What do they say about us and how we deal with each other in this world that we must share? Are we trying to understand others or force others to understand us? I remember once as a child when I was in Sunday school, our youth minister once said “You can hold a gun to someone’s head, but that doesn’t change what’s in their heart” and so wise were those words that I’ve held onto. I think these primitive desires to control how others think and behave create silent resentment but I also think exploring how people arrive where they are is a more fascinating discussion to have than simply trying to destroy them. It seems Accountability Culture is far less common than it was even three to four years ago and perhaps this is a sign of yet another cultural shift. Much like with the disability badge and the MBTI sweater, it’s much too worn out for me to wear again and I see past these labels. I may not understand why people cling to them as there can be more reasons than just simply ego, but ego likely is a big one.