The format of a My Take is 150 words – no more, no less – to express an opinion on a different topic each week. This week the topic was inclusive language.
Words have a lot of power. I don’t know when that message got mixed up, but clearly, not everyone got the memo.
Maybe the English teacher telling students, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” got drowned out by kids in the playground singing, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”
Well they did. And they still do.
I built a career on choosing my words carefully. I know the weight they carry.
On occasion I’m at a loss for words. And sometimes, I need to bite my tongue.
But let me make this perfectly clear.
If ever I were approached by someone who told me that the words I was using were hurtful, or disrespectful, or exclusive, and that changing one pronoun could make all the difference in the world to them, I wouldn’t worry about my grammar.
