Saturday, December 31, 2016

do not define me.

Life is not business, it’s personal.
I am not an entry in a spreadsheet.
You cannot build an algorithm to define me or predict my behavior.
My love of oil paint or yellow roses or green rocks is not important marketing information.
You cannot make predictions about my quality of life based on my age, BMI and current use of government assistance programs.

You can not pigeon hole my vote because of my age or my sex or even my registered party.

Statistics may tell you a lot about a population, but they tell you nothing about an individual.

The average American was born in the same state they live now.  They are white.  They are slightly more likely to be female.  They are middle-aged.  They have a year or 2 of college education but no degree.  They are buying their home. They live with 1 or 2 other people,  and have 2 pets.  They speak English.  They are protestant.   They work in retail sales.  They have an IQ of 100.  They make $38,000/year.  They are overweight.  They are heterosexual.  They have been married at least once, but may or may not be single now (50/50 split)

While all of that is statistically true, I don't know a single person that all of those are true for.

Statistics are for describing populations not individuals.

Yet we are faced with stereotypes, assumptions, classifications about ourselves, about who we are, about how we choose to live or not to live, about what we are interested in, should be interested in, should want to buy, to read, to listen to and the silly corporations that are leading this drive to define, are trying to make choices for me, trying to lead me by the nose to buy their product--they have no idea who I am.

So,  here you go.  I am a white, middle-aged female.  I have way to much college and have several paid off student loans to prove it.  I have never been in retail sales.  I do own my own home.  I don't live with 1-2 other people, but do live with more than 2 beasties.  I'm not protestant.  I have never even met anyone that actually had an IQ of 100 (a stat for sure, but not a person), and do not make $38,000/year.  I do live in the same state I was born in.

I'm as average as the next person.

Don't send me republican donation invites just because I'm from a red state.  Over 40% of my state is blue or independent.  Don't keep trying to sign me up for a web-based college degree in marketing, business, or medical assisting and please don't begin the conversation with "you requested information about our school".  I didn't.  Don't keep inviting me to follow and like Walmart.  Don't try to buy my house fast for cash.  Don't offer me a deal on the latest diet book or plan.

I also don't want to reorganize my closet, purge to simplicity, shop with coupons to save big money, or receive the beer of the month or the rose of the month or the plate of the month.  I know what I need to purchase.  I know were to find it.  And if, by some chance I decide I need something I have never had or needed before---I understand the Google search pretty well.

My life is not your business, it's personal.




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