Stripes, Labels, and the Zebra That Knows Too Much

Have you ever noticed how quick we are to label things? We humans love a good category. Whether it’s “black with white stripes” or “white with black stripes,” we slap a label on it and call it a day. But then along comes this zebra in the poem “Zebra Question,” and suddenly, it’s us under the microscope.

The kid innocently asks, “Are you black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?” And the zebra, probably bored out of its stripey little mind, fires back with a series of deeply philosophical riddles: “Are you good with bad habits, or bad with good habits? Are you neat with some sloppy ways, or sloppy with some neat ways?”

And just like that, the tables turn. The label-maker becomes the labelled.

Labels, Labels Everywhere

Let’s face it, we love to label people. You’re either the “early bird” or the “night owl,” the “messy creative” or the “type-A perfectionist.” But life—and people—aren’t that simple. I mean, who hasn’t had a neat freak moment while simultaneously leaving their laundry in a heap for three weeks?

South Africans are no strangers to labelling either. We’ve got the “braai master,” the “gatvol auntie,” the “Cape Town hipster,” and the “Joburg hustler.” But just like the zebra, people rarely fit neatly into these boxes. A Joburg hustler can totally love a lazy beach day, and a Cape Town hipster might secretly binge action movies instead of arthouse films.

What the Zebra Taught Me

This poem is a cheeky reminder that labels are, well, limiting. Sure, they’re convenient (and sometimes funny), but they rarely tell the whole story. The zebra is saying, “Hey, stop trying to define me with your black-and-white thinking.”

People are wonderfully contradictory. We’re a mix of strengths, flaws, quirks, and complexities. Just because someone’s messy doesn’t mean they’re not organised in their own way. And just because someone’s quiet doesn’t mean they don’t have a noisy inner life.

The Takeaway

So, what’s the lesson here? Maybe it’s time to stop labelling people—or at least take those labels with a pinch of salt. Instead of asking if someone’s this or that, maybe we should just let them be.

Next time you catch yourself trying to define someone—or yourself—pause and think of that zebra. Because let’s be honest, it’s exhausting trying to fit into boxes all the time. We’re all just messy masterpieces, figuring it out as we go.

And as for the stripes? Maybe it’s best we don’t ask about them at all.