When Words Are Wrong

 If you have been a thinking, feeling human being during the last decade or so, you no doubt have been influenced to “think before you speak.” It’s not a hard concept, really. Since Adam and Eve, human beings have had the ability to process sensory data, form a conclusion about said data, and then speak or respond to other human beings (or even God) through speech (and later, writing). Wise human beings have always endeavored to speak the truth.

The concept of what is “true” is elementary; it is some fact or speech that resembles reality in the closest possible fashion. For example, a person who observes another human being committing a crime such as looting or murder is entitled to report what he or she has observed. There can be no doubt that criminals are not entitled to stop the speech that will identify their wrongdoing.

All this assumes, of course, that the person observing the crime speaks a language that can convey the details of a crime to those in authority to stop the criminal. And – yes – that also means that there must be a common vocabulary. All of this also assumes that there is an effort to speak truth.

However, apparently, the minions of academia are convinced that the interpretation of any unfavorable speech is arbitrary, especially with regards to vocabulary. A long-established professor of communications, Greg Patton, from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, was reported for using the Chinese word for “that” – nega. His black students complained that not only was the professor racially negligent (insensitive perhaps?), but through this one, egregious example of linguistic wrongdoing, these same students suffered “mental anguish.” Oh, the pain of hearing a foreign word!! Oh, the anguish of being confronted by unfamiliar syllables!!

The professor has been forced to sit out the semester. Lord knows how those students will survive real life![1]

I once faced a similarly ridiculous situation. (In truth, it was representative of the exact trend I have mentioned above, and not the only time my speech was targeted by ignorant students and administrators.) I was teaching English Composition II at a local community college, and – as required by the established curriculum – I assigned a composition reflecting on the rhetorical impact of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In keeping with the unbridled, truth-telling of King’s speech, I said that the word “Negro” in King’s letter should not be excised and be replaced by “black” or any other such euphemism. Nary a day went by before I received a call from the dean (who was, himself, uneducated in English literature, and did not at that time even possess a master’s degree in anything), who informed me that a student had lodged a complaint against me.

I was quite surprised at his introduction, as the semester had barely begun. What on earth had I done to merit a phone call “from above”?

My offense, apparently, was the insensitive use of “Negro.” How could I stipulate that the word “Negro” be included in any essay? God gave me the peace of mind to instruct the person on the other end of the phone that King himself used “Negro” as a polite (and correct) term to refer to his race. He was flummoxed that I was speaking the truth; he sputtered his way through another sentence or two, and that was the end of the conversation. (By the way, he conveniently “forgot” the name of the student who made the complaint. He said it didn’t matter. Didn’t matter??) It took me only a minute or two to guess the name of the culprit, but I made a general announcement to the class about the matter – naming no names and pointing no fingers -- but once again, explaining my logical reasons for my previous instructions. The class went on (successfully, I might add) to the conclusion of the semester.

In this day of false outrage and “wrong” words, I beg my readers to stop and put themselves into Professor Patton’s shoes – and, while you’re at it, mine. In the words of my favorite TV father / grandfather character, Mike Baxter of Last Man Standing, “These are just words; ya gotta use words.”[2] The aim of using vocabulary and speech is to communicate truth. Truth may offend (please read the Four Gospels), but it needs to be spoken. It’s the only hope for a peaceful society – which, as generations of educators knew before us, is the ultimate reason why we educate our young.

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[1] Sciascia, Andrew J. “Prof Suspended After Saying Chinese Word That Sounds Like Racial Slur.” Western Journal Commentary. September 5, 2020. https://www.westernjournal.com/prof-suspended-saying-chinese-word-sounds-like-racial-slur/

 [2] Last Man Standing, Season 1, Episode 2, “Grandparents Day.”