thoughts on the news of the day: words

hmmm…..

            Words are a curious thing.  We have to be careful how we use them.  Some words are automatically volatile – you know what they are – the n-word and the f-word.  Practically no one uses them in polite public, unless they want to get a lot of attention.

            But there are other words, more subtle, that have meanings that can be offensive to racial and ethnic groups.  For example, the word “niggardly”.  It means not generous or stingy.  But we all know how confusing it can be to use the word because of the connotations.  So most people will avoid using it in conversation. 

            I read a post on facebook yesterday that used the word “renege” which means to break an agreement or a promise.  It’s a commonly used word in the English language, but the person using the word spelled it “renig” which holds a completely different connotation.  Like I said we have to be careful how we use words. 

            Racism can be a subtle thing.  My daughter had three best friends in high school.  One was as white as she could be.  One was definitely Hispanic – her family came across the river on foot.  And the third was named Benjilina –   you can probably guess her ethnic origin.  I am pretty sure she would be offended by the spelling of the word, as was my daughter when she read the post. 

            So words are powerful; they can cut like a knife or soothe a weary soul.  It all depends on how we use them.

            hmmm.....