Ending “the word” may be harder than we thought

As you walk down the streets of a college campus, you will hear some incredibly varied dialogue. With a healthy dose of eavesdropping, you will learn a lot about everything from crazy party anecdotes to class notes to the environment. Unfortunately, there are also a few words that make my heart sink every time I hear them.

The two words in particular that strike me are “faggot” and “retard.” I hear them all the time. Almost each time I do, they are used in a nonchalant, non-insulting way to homosexuals or those with developmental disabilities. Most often, the words are used to describe friends who are having moments of stupidity.

Countless campaigns have tried to end these words. We, as a society, are attempting to make our communities comfortable for all people, especially those who may need more support. That being said, we are not doing nearly enough to end the social acceptability of hurtful words, especially in a “joking” context.

I don’t care what you are trying to say to your friends; there is a better word than “retarded” to call them when they do something stupid. The longer we allow ourselves to use these words as a comical insult, the longer we are perpetuating a future of continued hatred toward members of our community.

Calling someone a “faggot” may not demonstrate your views on homosexuality, but to some people, it might. That being said, the gay community needs the support of everyone, and continuing to use a word that, at one point, was hatefully directed at them is an insensitive lapse in our ability to include them as part of our community.

There is one more word that I hear way too often that I don’t even feel comfortable putting down on paper. The word is the n-word. Walking down the hall of my floor, I hear music blasting from a variety of music artists who use the word as part of their lyrics.

This is, to put it simply, unacceptable, in my mind. This particular word was used at one point in this country’s history to be as hateful and derogatory as possible to a group of people. That is heinously intolerable. I know the excuse comes up often: “Well, black rappers are allowed to use the word because they are black.” I think, to put it bluntly, that is total crap.

You will never, ever hear me describe myself as a “kike.” I find jokes making fun of Jews to be offensive (or, at the very least, not funny), even if told by another Jew.
That being said, we need to work toward making these hurtful, hateful words sociological history rather than self-deprecating modernity.

We have the incredible opportunity to use our words to hurt or to heal. We also have the opportunity to analyze our behavior and reflect on whether what we are saying is doing one or the other. I encourage you to evaluate your own use of these words and to hopefully eliminate the hate.

­— azoot@indiana.edu