November 2016 Newsletter

November 29, 2016

How to Speak Up Against Casual Hate

We’ve all been there: A child jokes about having “chinky eyes” in a selfie. Your boss makes a transphobic remark, and everybody laughs. You hear a stranger mock someone’s appearance.

What can we do? Do we say something?

When casual ignorance and intolerance surface as we go about our daily lives, it’s important to remember one thing: We are not helpless. We all can do something about it and make an impact. Read more

In other news:

Voting with my actions,

Karen YinFounder

 Writing About the “Alt-Right” | The Associated Press

“We should not limit ourselves to letting such groups define themselves, and instead should report their actions, associations, history and positions to reveal their actual beliefs and philosophy, as well as how others see them.”

“In addition to being incorrect, using the more genteel and urbane term ‘internment’ as a synonym for the harsher-sounding ‘mass incarceration’ makes it a harmful euphemism—the substitution of a benign, indirect, or vague word to hide something offensive, unpleasant, or embarrassing.”

“In 2016, researchers stumbled on a radical tactic for reducing another person’s bigotry: a frank, brief conversation.”

“Make sure they know that even if everyone else is laughing at an inappropriate comment or joke, they don’t have to. This isn’t about being polite, it’s about standing up for what’s right.”

Instagram is “essentially outsourcing its housekeeping responsibilities to its users. But the move, with its embrace of subjective censorship, also acknowledges a broader linguistic phenomenon: ‘Offense’ itself is—and to some extent has become—a deeply individualized affair.”

“Yes, in some sense, we are the media. But not in the blunt way you use the phrase. It’s so imprecise and generic that it has lost any meaning. It’s—how would you put this?—lazy and unfair.”

“Media advocacy organization GLAAD is releasing the tenth edition of its style guide…which asks that all major media outlets use LGBTQ from now on. The ‘q’ stands for queer.”

“Letters written for women are often shorter, lack basic important features, and use language that is focused on stereotypically communal and feminine qualities like ‘caring’ and ‘compassionate.’ Letters lauding men focus more on accomplishments; the contrast can impact a candidate’s shot at landing a job.”

“Embrace a core set of values for written material. These values might include brevity, directness, and backing up statements with evidence.”

“Most will tell you they believe it conveys a sense of caring or nurturing when they lapse into using child-like vocabulary or refer to those adults as ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie.’… But that doesn’t take away the sting when it happens.”

 The Lasting Impact of Mispronouncing Students’ Names | National Education Association

“Overlooking or downplaying the significance of getting a name right, explains Rita Kohli, assistant professor of education at the University of California at Riverside, is one of those ‘microagressions’ that can emerge in a classroom and seriously undermine learning.”

“We want to be represented in media so that our realities and experiences, struggles and victories, pains and joys—a more complete and nuanced portrait of us—can be shared with society.”

“When I’m told that I write action like a man, it feels as though all that effort has been reduced to the singularity of gender, a simple question: Had I been a man, would I have done a better job?”

“Commenting, texting, reposting and retweeting have become substitutes for communication, and we often erroneously use these to gauge the status of a relationship…. Reach out IRL. Don’t think that replying to a text with three heart emoji is offering help.”

“Everyone is welcome here. We are a family. We want everyone to feel included, and we want our language to reflect that.”—Haley Kroll, Chico State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) co-president

“Omitting nonwhites from episodic historical fiction and the everyday history that informs our lives today says that the only contribution by people of color to society is conflict.”

“It matters not only what we call ourselves, but what others call us. These are not just labels; they indicate different social positions. As such, they not only situate and affect blacks, but also whites. This dance is relational even if it is not symmetrical.”

“Customers will have three gender options when they open an account with Metro Bank: male, female, or nonbinary, with the option to use the title Mx, popular among people who don’t identify as male or female.”

“By calling us ‘gender-neutralists,’ opponents paint parents who want the best for their children as extremists. They use the term ‘gender-neutral’ to suggest that our children live a dull, beige, ‘genderless’ existence. How disingenuous to label people who raise their children in a spirit of fun and freedom, with a term that evokes an image of bland extremism.”

“Using the scientific term ‘cannabis’ is both a reproach of the racist roots and a means to remove the stigma and reclassify the plant in the minds of those who’ve been taught a negative association.”

“The question of whether ‘bitch’ qualifies as a slur, however, turns out to be quite complicated.”

“These ‘judgments’ can be adjectives, phrases or verb tenses. They’re often tucked into a news story, an editorial or part of an otherwise neutral delivery… These words add value judgments to our writing and often say more about the authors than their subjects.”

 Who Gets to Write What? | The New York Times

“Imagine the better, stronger fiction that could be produced if writers took this challenge to stretch and grow one’s imagination, to afford the same depth of humanity and interest and nuance to characters who look like them as characters who don’t, to take those stories seriously and actually think about power when writing—how much further fiction could go as art.”

“Just talking about ‘How do you think that person is feeling?’ is so important. It’s a way of un-centering our kids’ universe and getting them thinking outside of themselves.”—Amy McCready, author of “The ‘Me, Me, Me’ Epidemic”

The Conscious Style Guide newsletter rounds up the best news and blog posts from the world of kind, compassionate, mindful, empowering, respectful, and inclusive language. Note: Spotlighting an opinion is not intended as an endorsement. Please send news tips to [email protected].

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