A line from Daisetz T. Suzuki

Otherwise it is borrowed plu-
mage, an idiom that denotes 
the act of falsely assuming 
qualities, honors, or those dis-

tinctions that make a bird a bird
such as feathers which are theirs 
alone. In lieu of an abstract, it 
reduces people to stereotypes 

& mocks identity, meaning that if
one cannot easily see beneath the
exterior they present, they'll be 
mistaken for sheer nothingness.