He died for the cause of justice and equality at age 39 and he had achieved so much by then. It made me wonder and think about what I fight for in my life and what people in this country fight for and are inspired by. We can't all be the face of a national or international revolution or cause and it is very sobering to think about what some people have accomplished by a young age and reflect on one's own life in comparison.
In thinking about these things, I thought of two quotes I find inspirational and true. The first is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: " Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." The second is from Mahatma Ghandi: "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." These quotes provide the foundation from which this blog post is written...it is one I've wanted write for a while and I thought the week during which we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a perfect time for this post.
I want to talk about the power of words. I think one of the most erroneous adages is "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me". I understand the intent behind the words and I understand that maybe it's freed some people to let other people's hurtful words "roll off their back". That said, I disagree with it for the most part. I think in our current society, we do not think about words--what they mean, how we use them and how very powerful they are.
We have talked before in this blog about harmful cliches like "you throw like a girl", "cry like a girl" and other demeaning, sexist phrases. I would like to broaden the discussion. I think as a person of conviction that if I stand firmly against using these derogatory terms, it is my responsibility to remove other harmful language from my daily usage. Let me give you a few examples.
About 5-10 years ago, the phrase"oh, that's so gay" came into usage to denote that something sucked or was lame. I admit to having said it around that time...until I thought about what was actually being communicated through the casual use of that flippant word choice. Dubbing something we don't like as "gay" equates gay with something that is less than and is derogatory to the gay community. Once I realized that, I eradicated the phrase from my vocabulary.
Sometimes words and phrases have become so accepted and ingrained in our language that they go unnoticed. An example is the use of the word "pussy" to chide someone who is fearful or lacks a backbone or basically is just doing something we deem, once again, "less than". I have heard women use the word...women who are feminists and are (rightfully) pissed off when they hear someone say "throw like a girl" and other phrases of that ilk throw around the word pussy, oftentimes, without blinking an eye. Because it is such a common usage of the term, the use and the damage frequently goes unnoticed and unaddressed. I chose these two examples to illustrate my point but there are numerous examples of this unfortunate reality.
I liken the use of these terms to chronic toxicity. Casual use of these words and phrases and the repeated exposure to them over the course of time chips away at a person's heart, soul and self esteem. It also works to damage an entire people's collective consciousness.
This brings me back to the two quotes I mentioned earlier...I believe that if I do not want sexist terms to be used casually and not so casually, it is my responsibility to be conscious of and deliberate about the words and phrases I allow in my vocabulary. What we, as a society and individual people, deem as acceptable language is a form of justice.
If I ask for justice for my gender, I want to ask for it for everyone and practice daily justice in my own personal life. I will do and be the change I wish to see in this world. In the same way chronic toxicity can kill slowly over time, positive changes on a daily basis accrue to make this world more just for all of us...and that is something each of us has the power to do every day.
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