Word Choice Matters

I tend to be a bit draconian about words, grammar and language. The irony is that I make a lot of typos, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is about my belief that precision in language creates effective communication. I also believe that creativity is engendered with we take the time to find the right words.

There is a belief in our society that if you know what I mean then my lazy words are good enough. I don’t agree. Thumb-typing on a smartphone notwithstanding, I believe that when we have something important to say we need to take the time to say it well.

I believe in the spiritual power of language. We use words to pray. We use words in ritual. We use words in magick. There’s a reason for that. Words really do have power.

I want to cite two examples of poor word choice that have made me cringe this week. The first is from an anti-bullying meme floating around Facebook. You’ve probably seen it. This meme irritates me so much I have actually commented (politely) when I have seen my friends post it. I always get the same response. My friends agree it’s not worded well, but to them it’s the thought that counts. I don’t really see it that way. I think a negative message is damaging even if the original intention was good.

The meme in question begins “That girl you called a slut in class today, she’s a virgin. The pregnant girl walking down the street, she got raped.”

It goes on to discuss other victims of bullying, such as “the boy you made fun of for crying, his mother is dying.”

The obvious point of the meme is that one can’t know the reality of a person’s life and so bullying a person based on your suppositions is wrong. I completely agree. But bullying a person for any reason is wrong – end of story.

As of today this meme has been shared 244,842 times. Am I the only one who finds this meme completely disturbing?

If a child were crying for a less dire reason than a dying mother would that mean he deserved to be bullied? If an old man’s face were scarred in a bar fight rather than a war would it be acceptable to mock his appearance?

The worst part for me is the obvious misogyny of the first two lines. To me this meme says that if the girl were not a virgin it would be just fine to slut-shame her.  According to this meme getting pregnant by consensual sex is clearly less acceptable than getting pregnant through the horror of rape.

According to this meme, young women who enjoy sex deserve to be bullied. What we don’t want to do is slut-shame a girl who didn’t choose to have sex. Slut-shaming a girl who likes sex is just fine.

The idea that we can’t know a person’s circumstance is valid. This meme takes an evil twist by suggesting that if we know a person’s background we can make an educated decision about whether or not to bully them.

My second example of really regrettable word choice came to my attention when Chris Christie screamed at a teacher who is a member of the Badass Teacher Association. I couldn’t believe that a group of teachers – those whose job it is to teach communication skills and inspire creativity – couldn’t come up with a better way to describe themselves than “badass.” If a student wrote an essay describing herself as “badass” would that be an A paper?

I fully support the goals of the Badass Teacher Association but I am shocked and saddened by their word choice. I fear, too, that young teachers are the product of the very education system against which they now rail. No wonder they don’t have enough command of the language to find a decent name. The term “badass” is listed in the Oxford Dictionary as slang. It’s actually a word I use from time to time.

In my opinion, a slang term based on an off-color word is not an appropriate title for a formal association of educators. If our educators don’t care about the language we share, who will? It’s tough for me to believe that they care about education as much as they say they do if the best word they can find to describe themselves is “badass.”

I know language is always changing. I know we don’t speak the same way we did a hundred years ago. What concerns me is the prevalent concept that the words we choose don’t matter. The excuse is that we know what we mean, so we don’t need to be picky about how we say it.

I think if we don’t see the value of careful word choice the words we say will eventually cease to have any power or clear meaning at all.

More About the Dumbing Down of America

One of the news stories that caught my attention recently is the story of the recent pep rally for the undefeated Waverly Wolverines football team in Waverly, New York.

As part of the high school's tradition, students put on skits to earn the title of "Mr. Waverly."

The problem with one of the skits came to light when an alumnus of Waverly High noticed a photo on Facebook, and sent it to CNN. Three young men put on a skit mocking the domestic violence between Chris Brown and Rihanna - and they did it in blackface.

Hundreds of social media comments and news stories later, the superintendent of the Waverly School System states that he plans to hold meetings and make announcements.

Everyone has rung in on this, from ethicists to community members and fellow students.

Was this a racist act? Did it make light of the serious nature of domestic violence?

Everyone agrees that the kids did not think they were doing anything wrong, or even pushing the envelope. As one community member stated, they do skits like that on Saturday Night Live all the time.

A student pointed out that it wasn't "blackface," it was just body paint.

What shocks me is that not one reporter or commenter has brought up the real problem behind this issue.

I agree that the kids meant no harm. They really didn't know any better. I remember doing skits in high school and how much fun it was. Those high school memories are some of my best. The creativity, humor and teamwork it takes to create and present a skit is something that kids only learn through extracurricular activities such as these.

I don't blame the kids, and I don't blame the behavior of the celebs that inspired the skit.

The really culprit and the real crime struck me when I read an article about the incident by Dr. Bruce Weinstein, "The Ethics Guy." Dr. Weinstein correctly pointed out that the kids had no knowledge or understanding of the historical context of blackface.

I'm betting they haven't had much coaching about the nature of domestic violence either.

Why is this? Could it be that Waverly schools, like all other schools in our great nation, are underfunded? Could it be that there is no opportunity for kids to attend civics classes where they might learn about these topics? Maybe issues of racial history and domestic relations aren't on the standardized tests?

What has happened at Waverly High simply shines a spotlight on what we already know to be true. Our kids aren't taught critical thinking, ethics, or any history beyond the basics. We are raising a nation of test-takers who lack skills like discernment and extrapolation.

Who said that those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it? I'm sure the students at Waverly don't know who said it or what it means because it's not on the test.

As we struggle to change our economic future, let's not forget that kids are our future, and without their legitimate education, there is no future. There is no more patriotic act than to invest in the education of our children.