Comments on: The Limitations of Language

By: Hannah Weinstein

Hannah Weinstein — Fri, 13 May 2016 02:29:15 +0000

I think that discussing the racism in our society is a very difficult topic, and conversations could head in many different directions. It is important for all people involved in discussions to have the same definition for key words, but alas, conversations are not debates, and so definitions are not set in stone in the beginning. This could lead to miscommunications and disputes on ideas, but it is up for the people in the conversation to agree on what they are talking about, and sometimes have to agree to disagree in the moment unfortunately. Through my experiences, people do not change their thoughts in one conversation; it takes time. Maybe not a new vocabulary is necessary, but the way people talk about these topics and the ability to be open to new ideas is needed.

By: Jen Beck

Jen Beck — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:37:33 +0000

I definitely agree that there’s a disconnect in our language. It’s difficult to remember that people aren’t as educated on the systemic racism in our society as people in academia. You walk a very fine line when talking with people, then, because everything feels so personal. I think also, that explaining to a person that you’re not attacking them personally, but rather going after the system that brought us into this thinking is important. But in a lot of cases, that might not be enough. Especially when talking to those people that are especially patriotic, because an attack on their country feels like an attack on them as an American citizen.

By: ginellewolfe1

ginellewolfe1 — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 17:05:12 +0000

Great post! I’ve been thinking about bridging the gap between learning about racism in an academic context to actually practicing it and talking about it to people. I like your point that maybe we do need a new language. But in the meantime, I think a good short term solution is for us to realize when we are using words that may be defined differently in an academic context and make sure to explain what we mean when we use them. This made me think of the Southern Poverty Law Center talk, when I think the speaker was trying to say that everyone can be prejudiced, but used the term racism, implying that reverse racism exists. Many people were rightfully uncomfortable by this comment and I think it was due to a miscommunication in how we define terms.