Come on Everyone Stop the -ISMs!
We’ve all fallen prey to an -ism at some point in our lives. Racism, sexism, size-ism, ageism, classism, ableism, antisemitism, and other -isms that are hurtful and dismiss someone as being not-as-worthy as others; somehow less than those who hurl the -ism. They are used to hurt and create feelings of anger and sadness. It is reminiscent of the proverbial ‘school-yard’ bully.
-Isms are not only cruel, they are dangerous and a definite precursor to violence against a single person or targeted groups of people. Some -isms can be used so harshly against someone as to cause the belittled person to commit suicide. Words can hurt and destroy.
So how do we stop the cruelty and dangerous -isms? First, let’s define what an -ism really is.
An -ism is a phobia, based on false beliefs of stereotypes. A good example is ageism when a person over 65 is considered of no value. The phrase, “Okay Boomer!” is a derogatory response to the opinion or comment of a senior citizen by someone who is younger. Another example is “Women are too emotional.” Usually said by a man who sees women in authority as a threat to men.
Ignorance and fear fuel this phobia. An -ism is not only discriminatory, but also, too often hostile leading to crimes of hate. Stopping them is vital to our survival.
The Department of Justice has warned that using slurs, whether stated or shown in other ways are a danger in our society: “Slurs often escalate to harassment, harassment to threats, and threats to physical violence.”
While I feel that most people who use -isms do so from an environment where prejudice was learned such as childhood and will not resort to violence, there are many others who will, most especially when with a like-minded group.
So how do we stop using the- isms? Let’s begin with children. We can educate children that singling out a certain individual or group of individuals is wrong. We can try to show them to see people as us, as we and not as me and them. We should work to understand why we use ageism, racism, antisemitism in our thinking. Where did the ideas in our heads come from and why.
Lastly, we should begin to teach ourselves that when we put down another person or group with -isms, we are also putting down ourselves. Sound strange? It’s not. There’s a cruelty in using an -ism to hurt or shame another person. We become less of a person when we do this. We become a victim of sanctimony-ism which is making a show of being morally superior to other people. In other words, we act just like the school yard bully.
Be a catalyst for change and stop using -isms. Aren’t we all so much better than the school yard bully? Yes we are.
© copyright 2023 Kristen Houghton all rights reserved Lifestyle 2023
