The Gap Between Word and Reality

After reading "On Being A Cripple" by Nancy Mairs, I have really started to analyze and think about the words I choose and why I choose them. To Nancy Mairs the word "cripple" is equal to the words "handicapped" or "disabled". Personally, I would probably never refer to someone as "cripple" because I feel like that word is insulting. Though to Mairs that word is not an insult, to other handicapped individuals, it may be.

Another example of this is the naming of races. To white people, calling an African American person "black" is uncomfortable. To black people, calling a Caucasian person "white" is a bit awkward. I witnessed this in my Africana Studies class this week. When the teacher referred to the white people in the room as "white", the African American people in the class began looking around as if he had just cursed at us or deeply insulted us. He then proceeded to ask why they looked as if they felt so awkward. They replied in agreement that they all felt uncomfortable referring to Caucasians as "white" and one individual even stated that she would feel more comfortable saying "non-black" or "Caucasian" in reference to white people. In the same way, white people feel strange calling African Americans "black". Even in typing this blog, I felt a little uncomfortable saying "black people" over and over. Most white people do not get insulted when referred to as "white" and most black people do not get offended when referred to as "black". The point I'm trying to get at is that we are so self conscious of the words we use when a lot of times we should not worry so much. I am not encouraging that everyone says whatever is on their mind by cursing and insulting each other, but being capable of using language properly in a casual way is just as important as using it properly in a formal way.

Finding the gap between word and reality is important. Learning which words can be insulting and which are just casual words that could possibly be awkward to use is vital to communicating. In the same way that Mairs is cripple and doesn't mind being referred to as that, a white person does not mind being referred to as a white person. Her condition or someone's skin color is not their choice or their fault, it is just the way they are and stating their condition will not offend them. Figuring out language and how to use it in this "informal" manner is vital to putting it into practice.