A recent conversation resulted in a brother telling me that: “Labels are libel.” I fear there is more truth in this aphorism that most of us would care to admit.
Technically libel is: “A published false statement damaging to a person’s reputation.” It is very difficult to prove in a court of law and rarely is a person successful in a case regarding libel. Free speech is a valued liberty in our society and rightly so.
But a secondary definition says libel is “a false or defamatory oral or written statement; a thing that brings discredit by misrepresentation.” This definition carries with it the idea of accusing falsely and/or maliciously.
So, are labels sometimes a form of libel? To my mind it depends entirely upon the context. If I am called a Calvinist, for example, it could be a form of libel or it could be an accurate statement. It depends entirely on the person using the label and what they intend by using it. Often this label does turn out to be libel in terms of personal