The Abuse of Oppressive Language

It’s a great Friday morning and you feel amazing as you get ready for the weekend to get started. You enter school grounds where it’s supposed to be a safe environment for all students and staff, but you hear the use of the n-word being thrown around as if it's just another ordinary word. Why is an oppressive word that targets a specific group of people being used in a “joking” manner? Is it the lack of knowledge behind the history of the words being used? Or is it people just straight up being ignorant? Regardless of whatever reason why people use offensive language, we need to take action. 

This offensive language might come off as a “joke” at first, but offensive, harmful, and negative comments are never a joke for the victim. I can’t go one day without hearing profanity and slurs being used such as the n-word, f-slur, and b-word. It is not necessary for students to have oppressive language in their vocabulary -  especially in school - and I'm not the only one who feels this way

An anonymous student at Neuwirth was asked a few questions about this topic and here is what they had to say: 

“I hear the n-word every day in class, during lunch, and in between periods. The people who say it are the ones who know they shouldn’t say it but still do.I do think it is a problem in this school and it should be brought up more.” The student continued: 

“I was called the f-slur in class before by one of my classmates. It made me feel targeted and oppressed which I didn’t want while I was just trying to learn. He said he said it as a joke, but slurs shouldn't be something to joke about.” 

To be clear, a Neuwirth student has experienced and been confronted with slurs being used towards them in a class setting. This is ridiculous. A class should be a place to learn and feel welcomed in, not targeted.

Now let's get a staff point of view about this topic. I asked Ms. Dennis, who helps manage Neuwirth’s partnership with Center for Racial Justice and Equity, a few questions and this is what she had to say:

“I hear profanity or slurs used daily on campus. I think I hear more profanity than slurs, and I believe some students are making a conscious effort to use less profanity on campus. To stop or minimize the use of slurs, I think both staff and students need to be willing to call people out for using them. I think a reminder that we don't use that language on campus can help, only if those reminders happen consistently. 

I agree, but what if they don’t stop using slurs? What consequences should be applied to people who use slurs at school?

“It's important to provide people an opportunity to learn why the slur is unacceptable. I also think people should be provided an opportunity to reflect on their behavior and repair the harm done. If people are unwilling to change their behavior and continue harming people with their words, a parent conference or other consequence is needed.” 

Why do people keep using offensive slurs? Is it their lack of knowledge about the slur that the school needs to teach about?

“Some people do lack knowledge about slurs, so more lessons about them would be helpful. I think others are so used to using slurs that they say them without thinking. People need to be willing to change their behavior, and remove the slur from their vocabulary. I think part of that comes with understanding why the slur is offensive and realizing its potential to harm someone, and wanting to change to stop perpetuating that harm.”

As a community, we should care about how safe our environment is and what aspects make us thrive in our education. Slurs and profanity don't belong in our environment, but what action can we take as a school to move forward with this issue? School should be a place where everyone feels safe and valued. Removing any use of oppressive language should be the bare minimum expectation toward achieving that goal.