We have heard it all before; from our friends, from our family, even from the President of the United States of America: Watch your language. This statement in itself may mean a multitude of things. In one sense, it means not to say “bad words”, words that have been written off in the English language as unpleasant and dirty. However, the other way of interpreting this statement is out of respect. This is directed toward those expressions that many teenagers, and even adults, use in a derogatory sense. Common ones used in this manner are often the words “gay” or “retarded”. They are usually used to describe something odd, lame, or someone who is thought to be less than. We live in the generation of political correctness, so why do we, the future of America, continually use such words in a hateful context?

  I think that without a direct experience with the actual situation the words are referring to, it is hard to drop these phrases from our vocabulary. Without Macklemore’s gay uncle, it is difficult to see the effects of our language. Without knowing someone with a mental illness, using the word “retarded” seems like a victimless crime. But when one does have a connection to a word being used in this manner, it’s infuriating to those in that situation. People who say these unkind words are ignoring their impact  felt by those that hear them. Honestly, everyone just needs to chill out. Find a different word to replace these new adjectives that have slithered into our vocabulary, somehow becoming words  born in a negative context.

 There are so many reasons to stop using terms like these. For one, homosexuality is prevalent throughout the world; it is not just a crazy idea that is only seen on TV, and mental illnesses are real ailments that many deal with. How do you think gay people feel when they hear someone they don’t even know talk badly about the way they are? They feel poorly about themselves, something that no other human being should make another feel. There are a myriad of people who spend years and years of their lives lobbying for the removal of these words from the commonplace vocabulary. People are people, no matter their sexuality, mental state, skin color, gender, etc. And as a person, it is not fair for one to use derogatory terms like these.

 Underneath all our differences, we are all human beings; all made of the same stuff. What gives you the right to use such phrases rooted in ignorance and hate? Nothing. There is absolutely nothing on this planet that gives anyone that right.