Updated: Sep 7, 2021
The pen is mightier than the sword. The deliberate use and misuse of words shape thought, promote biases or dismiss or minimize or elevate other people or issues. And words, thrust forth like weapons, can also be more dangerous than a sword.
Recently, I’ve read more than one news story about “disruptive” passengers on planes. A carefully‑-or perhaps carelessly—chosen word, “disruptive,” and its mildly chastising cousin, “unruly.” These stories relate instances of airline passengers punching flight attendants and/or other passengers in the face, in one instance knocking out a person’s teeth. Can you imagine someone punching another person (maybe a police officer) in the face on the street or knocking out the teeth of a corporate CEO in his office and the attacker being called “disruptive” or “unruly” in a news story? What’s going on here? Minimizing the safety and human value of flight attendants? Sugarcoating criminal behavior of perpetrators who are entitled to coddling because they bought a plane ticket? Insidious and subliminal bias, anyone? Hmmm.
Carefully chosen words: Is that group pro-life or just pro-pregnancy?
Is the other group pro-abortion or pro-choosing an abortion or not?
Are freedom fighters fighting to be free or fighting to control?
In any war on terror, does the identity of warriors and terrorists change depending on what side you’re on?
Sandinista/IRA/Viet Cong/Mujadeen/Taliban/Soviet/American/Native American/Conquistador/Israeli/Palestinian/Black Panther/KKK/Colonist/British …
Why are we told with that little bold-faced heading in the newspaper that the blurbs about crimes and traffic accidents are “public safety” reports? Aren’t they actually “public non-safety” reports? Would more accuracy make us feel less safe?
Can death really be a penalty?
Is everything we don’t agree with or don’t want to face “political?” Is Black Lives Matter “political?” Was the crusade to abolish slavery “political?” Was the fight for women’s suffrage “political?” Are human rights “political?” Is Nazism “political?” Is genocide “political?”
And speaking of politics, whenever you hear a politician say “economy,” substitute the words “corporate profits” and assess whether at least half of the time the latter term is more accurate.
Question the words you hear. Are you being manipulated? Be aware of the words you repeat. Are you advancing someone else’s agenda that you don’t support?