My Dad came from Chesterfield in Derbyshire & he loved faggots. I thought he was very queer in his tastes. A completely innocuous sentence - or not?
I passed a group of young men today. I think what I heard was banter, but maybe not. One of them called another "a bloody faggot" or something similar. It made me think about all the words I know for LGBT people - There are a lot more words than I realised - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_slang_terms It's also surprising how many more terms there are for male homosexuals than lesbian women. I would say that these are, by an large, derogatory & judgemental terms, which show how mindlessly we use language.
When we call people names, for whatever reason, we are using language to hurt, to undermine confidence, to make people more vulnerable & to ridicule them, often in public. It is verbal abuse which can have a devastating effect on the victim. If you are confident you can ride above it or respond. Many of us are not that confident, especially if facing a bully or a gang bent on intimidation.
Verbal abuse is a sign of ignorance & intolerance. Oddly it is also a sign of insecurity & immaturity. Most bullies will back off, fade into the background, if we have the courage to stand up to them. But nowadays there's a real risk of escalating the situation into violence. How are we to know if the bully has a knife or is prepared to inflict bodily harm?
It's a real & ever present problem for some people. The only way of really tackling it is through our young people themselves. It is firstly the responsibility of parents & secondly the education system.
The lessons of tolerance of diversity & difference have to be taught. Young people need good role models in their parents and teachers.
If we allow verbal abuse on our streets unchallenged, we are only a small step away from open physical violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment