So, are words really all that innocuous? I'm starting not to believe so. You have those that say that words and their meanings are nothing more than a social construct. You have others that say that words are often very weighty and can strike a nerve, no matter the inflection in someone's tone. I have myself over the course of the past two weeks witnessed and in some cases been involved in situations with people and the "words" of their choice and the flurry of emotion it provokes. I don't like the word "chump" for instance. To me that's the worst thing to call a man. I don't like words that negatively portray women or degrade them. In general, I just don't like disrespect, but anyway-who does?
I had a neck strain from sleeping the wrong way and couldn't participate in some drills in Judo class a few weeks back. An instructor of a higher rank questioned whether or not I was a "sissy" for taking precaution. If you label me a "sissy" because I want to be able to report for work the next day after sustaining an injury, so be it. However-this upset me, and I was gunning for him the next week in class when I was healed(He noticed it too). He apologized for the term and said he didn't mean anything by it, but where he's from (Germany) its thrown around in jest as a part of their lexicon. I told him it meant more than that to me and where I'm from (Cleveland, the USA) so I didn't like it.
I'm not saying to not say or use any certain terminology that you don't think is toxic for fear of offending someone. I do think we've become a little to protective and politically correct in some faucets of jargon. What I am saying though, is choose your words wisely and know what company you're in. You may run the risk of offending someone.
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