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I'm glad Ann Coulter used the word ''faggot'' the other day. It's about time we talk about this word and the power it holds over us, both young and old.
Despite Coulter's assertion that it ''has nothing to do with gays,'' trust me, it does. And ignoring it is dangerous.
My first job out of college was in the classroom. I taught junior high students, an exercise that I feel has prepared me for virtually any challenge. Day after day, my goal was to balance subject matter with socialization. I was able to successfully manage a classroom surging with hormones, nascent egos, and escalating bravado that thinly covered these kids'' fear. All teens are governed by self-doubt and vulnerability. I viewed each of my students as a child trapped in an adult body and my most important responsibility was to maintain a safe space where they could successfully grow into their new identities.
''Faggot'' was in everyday parlance at my school. Yelled over the din of crowded hallways between classes, tossed out between classmates vying for the spotlight during lunch, and most often as a direct verbal attack in the midst of a physical confrontation during P.E. or an after-school fight.
Like most junior high teachers, I developed an authoritative tone designed to cut through the pubescent haze. Sometimes I baritoned, ''Hey. after school in the office,'' but more often I stopped whatever activity was in progress and confronted the situation very publicly. There is nothing quite as riveting as an entire lunchroom falling silent as Mr. Ireland asks two kids to repeat what they have just said, so ''we can analyze exactly what is happening.''
My lecture went something like this: ''People who say ''faggot'' are bullies. Maybe they hate gay people, maybe they''re gay themselves and they don''t want anyone to know, maybe they didn''t even realize that the word comes from hate. Bottom line, bullying makes people feel unwelcome and it will get you sent to the office. Any questions?''
I am now a father and I will not wait for a teacher to tell my son about the power of language. As he grows up, we will talk about self-respect and how that allows each of us to respect other people, accepting and celebrating diversity. He''ll know that bullying is unacceptable and that he will be held to a higher standard.
According to the 2005 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teacher's Network (GLSTN), more than three out of four lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students reported hearing anti-gay slurs such as ''faggot'' or ''dyke'' frequently or often in school. Nearly two-thirds of those students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. The reality is, though, all kids hear anti-gay slurs and it affects them all.
When she used the word, Coulter was speaking at a conference organized by the American Conservative Union, the nation's oldest conservative lobbying organization. Its leaders have since released a statement that they ''do not condone or endorse the use of hate speech.'' She used the word in reference to John Edwards and clarified later on the Fox Network's ''Hannity Colmes'' that the term is a schoolyard taunt meaning ''wuss.'' The Edwards campaign responded with a fundraising push to raise $100,000 in ''Coulter Cash.'' For its part, the media has hashed and rehashed the political dimensions in terms of the next presidential race, but largely ignored the linguistic implications.
Sticks and stones may break bones, but it's pure ignorance to hope that words can do no damage. They do hurt-and I would argue that they hurt us all. We simply cannot allow a culture of bullying to thrive for all of our kids to see.
If someone acts like an ignorant teenager, I think we should treat her like a one. Coulter should accept responsibility for the words she chooses or I expect to see her in after-school detention.
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John Ireland, a former junior high school teacher, is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.
Despite Coulter's assertion that it ''has nothing to do with gays,'' trust me, it does. And ignoring it is dangerous.
My first job out of college was in the classroom. I taught junior high students, an exercise that I feel has prepared me for virtually any challenge. Day after day, my goal was to balance subject matter with socialization. I was able to successfully manage a classroom surging with hormones, nascent egos, and escalating bravado that thinly covered these kids'' fear. All teens are governed by self-doubt and vulnerability. I viewed each of my students as a child trapped in an adult body and my most important responsibility was to maintain a safe space where they could successfully grow into their new identities.
''Faggot'' was in everyday parlance at my school. Yelled over the din of crowded hallways between classes, tossed out between classmates vying for the spotlight during lunch, and most often as a direct verbal attack in the midst of a physical confrontation during P.E. or an after-school fight.
Like most junior high teachers, I developed an authoritative tone designed to cut through the pubescent haze. Sometimes I baritoned, ''Hey. after school in the office,'' but more often I stopped whatever activity was in progress and confronted the situation very publicly. There is nothing quite as riveting as an entire lunchroom falling silent as Mr. Ireland asks two kids to repeat what they have just said, so ''we can analyze exactly what is happening.''
My lecture went something like this: ''People who say ''faggot'' are bullies. Maybe they hate gay people, maybe they''re gay themselves and they don''t want anyone to know, maybe they didn''t even realize that the word comes from hate. Bottom line, bullying makes people feel unwelcome and it will get you sent to the office. Any questions?''
I am now a father and I will not wait for a teacher to tell my son about the power of language. As he grows up, we will talk about self-respect and how that allows each of us to respect other people, accepting and celebrating diversity. He''ll know that bullying is unacceptable and that he will be held to a higher standard.
According to the 2005 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teacher's Network (GLSTN), more than three out of four lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students reported hearing anti-gay slurs such as ''faggot'' or ''dyke'' frequently or often in school. Nearly two-thirds of those students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. The reality is, though, all kids hear anti-gay slurs and it affects them all.
When she used the word, Coulter was speaking at a conference organized by the American Conservative Union, the nation's oldest conservative lobbying organization. Its leaders have since released a statement that they ''do not condone or endorse the use of hate speech.'' She used the word in reference to John Edwards and clarified later on the Fox Network's ''Hannity Colmes'' that the term is a schoolyard taunt meaning ''wuss.'' The Edwards campaign responded with a fundraising push to raise $100,000 in ''Coulter Cash.'' For its part, the media has hashed and rehashed the political dimensions in terms of the next presidential race, but largely ignored the linguistic implications.
Sticks and stones may break bones, but it's pure ignorance to hope that words can do no damage. They do hurt-and I would argue that they hurt us all. We simply cannot allow a culture of bullying to thrive for all of our kids to see.
If someone acts like an ignorant teenager, I think we should treat her like a one. Coulter should accept responsibility for the words she chooses or I expect to see her in after-school detention.
--
John Ireland, a former junior high school teacher, is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.