I was watching Running Point, and in one episode, the protagonist’s partner calls her a ‘ bad person .’ She seems more heartbroken by that label than by the relationship breaking.

The series shows the character absorbing that label. It’s a small moment, but it reveals something uncomfortable about the human mind — how people bend, become agreeable, try to become the opposite of what they’ve been called.

This hit home.

So much so that I stopped binge-watching and started writing about this topic. Because being called “bad” made even a slightly flawed character take note and say, “ Wait what? ”.

Labels aren’t casual or harmless; they seep through a person’s soul. They have the power to start negotiating with the foundation a person has built their identity on.

And suddenly, I was thinking about certain monumental labels that stayed with me. Not the situations. I’ve handled worse.…