I respect that, but... I don't know. It's been a mistake in the past to let other peoples' perceptions define who I am. I was just hoping to convince you it's not worth it.
As a closing point, it wasn't until minorities started being proud of their labels that they made significant progress toward equality and justice. There's no reason to tolerate society's perceptions when they're unfair.
To phrase what he's saying in another way, you would not refer to yourself as something when it does not accurately represent what you are. And the meanings of various qualifiers changes over time. This has nothing to do with perception beyond the point of a shared understanding of the meaning of words.
"Label pride" played little role in the success of the vast majority of success of minority groups over time in the US. At one time Chinese, Japanese, Germans, Irish, Catholics, Italians, Jews, and countless other groups faced hardships and issues in our, sometimes not so melty, melting pot. They invariably overcame by actions, not words. Their degree of success can be shown by considering the fact that when you refer to "minorities" you're mostly not referring to these groups even though they are even smaller groups than those you do implicitly refer to with the word. Again with the meanings of the words!
As a closing point, it wasn't until minorities started being proud of their labels that they made significant progress toward equality and justice. There's no reason to tolerate society's perceptions when they're unfair.