In the wake of the events in Paris, I’m thinking about freedom of speech.
I’m not a cartoonist or a journalist.
But what I do know is that it is a lot easier to make fun of, criticize, demean, or negatively highlight something or someone when they are “not like me”.
It’s easier to point fingers, to think of something as “odd”, “weird”, “unfair” or even “funny” when one doesn’t have the inside perspective, understanding or context.
That is why gay jokes are still heard in the workplace and at school, and the attempted suicide rates for transgender youth are even higher than their lesbian, gay and bisexual peers. As two examples.
With this in mind, who are we talking about, pointing fingers at, or ridiculing the most? It’s definitely not the “dominant” group in society. That is where the privilege and power lie, and those things afford some protection from public ridicule, scrutiny and attempts at humour at one’s expense. No one is telling straight white able bodied male jokes at the office. For example.
I think that freedom of speech brings with it a responsibility to examine (or at least be willing to) what we don’t know about a situation, belief, culture, or person and consider the impact that our often uninformed and always biased words and opinions have on others.
Maybe if we did that, the world would be a safer and kinder place.
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copyright 2015 Annemarie Shrouder
Speaker and facilitator on issues of Diversity and Inclusion.
www.beeing.ca
www.annemarieshrouder.com
Well said, I think these are very interesting and worthwhile conversations to be having. The old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is simply not true. Words do hurt and so does teasing which often is the word used to disguise bullying. The whole notion of “can’t you take a joke” too can be another guise for bullying and other abusive behaviours and attitudes. I’m thinking particularly in male-female relationships where covert sexual harassment is happening, say in the workplace and the phrase one always hears if one objects is just that, “can’t you take a joke!” So yes, ones’ status, power position, history, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, able-bodiedness, weight, etc. can all be perspectives that carry a history of feelings, experiences etc. that a “perpetrator” has no understanding of and therefore no awareness of the impact that their words, images, “jokes” may have on others.
We live in times of growing awareness and attempts by many to evolve to a higher (larger more inclusive) level of functioning. I’m reminded of the theologian Martin Buber who talked about “I-Thou” relationships. Can we evolve quickly enough before we kill each other off? And for me this respect needs to be extended towards the other sentient beings such as animals, plants, and the earth in general. If we don’t “get it” soon nothing will be here to notice.