“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will
never harm me.”
My mother, like many mothers of children who were
ostracized and tormented for being different, used this expression to assuage
us - to no avail. We still got into physical
fights with the kids in our building who called us the S-word and other Hate
Words because our father was Puerto Rican.
One hundred years earlier, in March of 1862 the phrase
was cited in “The Christian Recorder” of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, (Which was first published in New York City in 1852).
“Remember the old
adage, 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me'.
True courage consists in doing what is right, despite the jeers and sneers of
our companions.” [http://www.phrases.org.uk/]
There are too many commonly used Hate-Words: African
Americans are called the N-word, Italian Americans, the W-word, Chinese Americans,
the C-word, Vietnamese Americans, the G-word and many more than I care to list in
this short blog entry. (If you need me to spell-out or explain any of the phrases listed
above please email me.)
In the 1980s, when I first began to develop sexual
harassment prevention education, I cautioned participants that words are
actions and may lead to an escalation of inappropriate and illegal behavior
from verbal to physical if not addressed by someone in authority. Bullying of
any kind must be dealt with directly by teachers, supervisors and CEOs.
The R-Word
 |
Cody Blackbird
This sign appeared this morning (12/08/13)
outside a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, Missouri. |
I have long been deeply perturbed by the usage of the
derogatory R-word as the name of an American football team based in our
nation’s capital. The team that was originally the Boston Braves when it was
established in 1932, became the Boston Redskins a year later (1933–1936), then
moved to Washington D.C. in 1937 where they still go by that same offensive name.
Perhaps not coincidental to the name is the fact that in
1962, Washington was the last American football team to integrate racially and
they did so only after the federal government threatened to sue the owners as
D.C. stadium, where they played at the time, was U.S. property and so
segregation was illegal there.
I strongly urge everyone to stop using the R-word entirely.
The
K-Word:
Etymonline.com provides the history of another insidious hate
word:
“1790, from Arabic kafir "unbeliever, infidel,
impious wretch," with a literal sense of "one who does not admit the
blessings of God," from kafara "to cover up, conceal, deny, blot
out." Technically, "non-Muslim," but in Ottoman times it came to
be used almost exclusively for "Christian." Early English
missionaries used it as an equivalent of "heathen" to refer to Bantus
in South Africa (1792), from which use it came generally to mean "South
African black" regardless of ethnicity [African or Indian], and to be a
term of abuse since at least 1934.”
How
many times did Nelson Mandela hear the K-word used as a weapon against himself and
others? How many times did he have to
rise above unimaginable abuse to move from victim to victor, from one of many
of the oppressed to a global symbol for freedom and human rights?
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that
goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
― Nelson Mandela
World Human Rights Day
― Nelson Mandela
World Human Rights Day
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by
the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 as a result of the atrocities
committed during the Second World War.The Commission on Human Rights was made up of 18 members
from various political, cultural and religious backgrounds. Eleanor Roosevelt,
widow of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR drafting committee.
Universal
Values
The core principles of human rights first set out in the
UDHR are universality, interdependence and indivisibility, equality and
non-discrimination. The Declaration
begins:
“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,”
To continue reading: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
What’s
In A Word?
Native American tribal leaders have been appealing to the
owners of the football team with the racist and derogatory name in an attempt
to get them to change the team’s name by offering alternative names. Their appeals continue to fall on deaf ears.
What words do the owners need to hear to understand how the R-word
is an assault not only on Native Americans, but on all of us who value people’s
inherent dignity?
Nelson Mandela did not transform South Africa from a
nation crippled by Apartheid to a democracy for all of its citizens alone. He did not employ violence to achieve this
lofty goal. He used words and his
incredible capacity to listen – to the oppressed as well as their
oppressors. In order for Nelson Mandela
to talk to others in their language he had to learn their language by
listening. Once he mastered that
language he was able to use it to effectively dismantle a hateful and criminal
system.
To move from hatred to recognizing our shared humanity –
to move from Hate-words to a humanitarian language - is a lofty goal. It is incredibly fortunate for all of us that
we have had role models such as former President Nelson Mandela to remind us
that, however lofty they may be, our goals are achievable if we are optimistic
enough to believe in them. Words can be
transformed from weapons to tools for learning about and loving one
another. This fairly simple concept is
at the core of the work to create and sustain inclusive environments, work
places, communities, and nations.
It is critical that we engage in conversations that may
initially be uncomfortable, but in the long term can help us to understand how we have much
more in common with one another than we think.
It is fitting that on World Human Rights Day tens of thousands of people,
including leaders from around the world gathered to honor and celebrate the
life of one of our greatest humanitarians, Nelson Mandela.
Onward,
~ Wendy
