Word(s) of the Week

This will not be a long post. A clarification: this post is not about homosexuality. It is about discourse, conflict and hope. The word of the week is "homophobia." It's defined as "fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men." i want to talk specifically about the label, rather than the fear itself, calling someone a "homophobe." i read an editorial in college in which the columnist put forth the notion that calling someone a homophobe was possibly the worst kind of prejudice. i had to think about it.

In thinking about how most hatred is bred, whether it be racism, agism, sexism or religious intolerance, i began to see her point. Most hatred is born of fear. That fear is often based in lack of understanding or misunderstanding. People can fear those of another skin color because they have little interaction with them or never got to know people different than themselves. People can develop agism and sexism through fears about employment and their own job security. People can develop fears about those of other religions because of the actions of minority members of those faiths or how they are portrayed in news sources and cinema.

i would somewhat disagree with the columnist because in a way, maybe the term homophobia is helpful. It helps to label a hatred what it truly may be for some people... a fear. A fear can often be alleviated more easily than a hatred can be mitigated. A fear can be worked on through learning, enlightenment and experience. It may be much more easy to fight hatred by soothing fear.

However, the point the columnist wanted to make is that the label homophobe quickly makes respectful public discourse impossible. It's derogatory and divisive. The moment you call someone a homophobe, you have said, "Your opinion is invalid because it's irrational." At this point, you have admitted you have no desire to debate, but to debase. Your desire is not to come to common ground but to beat your opponent into it.

This is not the only label used by people who debate these issues, nor is it the only derogatory and divisive label groups use to tell their opponents, "you're not worth debating, only defacing and dehumanizing." i would encourage all of us to consider our words carefully so that reaching common ground isn't achieved by laying our ideological opponent out on it.