A word about semantics
Another hill I will gladly die on
Words, my friends, matter. Deeply, in nuanced ways, and in ways in which selecting the right word can help shape the public conversation around a given topic.
Don’t believe me? Try these super contentious word-nuances on for size:
Right now it’s common to refer to the period of time in which people were living under stay-home orders as “lockdowns.” And, if you think back a year or two, a lockdown used to refer to what happens in a prison when a fight breaks out or someone tries to escape or gets attacked. But, consider the difference between casually calling this period of time "lockdown” versus “stay home orders” or even referring to it as “public safety measures.” A sea of difference! Lockdown implies zero agency and unwilling participants; “public safety measures” has a far more “glad to do my part to save lives” tone to it. And, I don’t know about you, but I feel delighted and privileged to be able to have done my part to not kill people by removing my self from the equation. (But, as I think we have all learned over the last 14 months, it’s impossible to make people give a crap about anyone but themselves if they do not. Moving on.)
Related: “re-opening” schools versus “re-opening school buildings.” Subtle, but one implies students and parents and definitely teachers didn’t all try to make some shit work when the pandemic spun up. Put another way, schools have been open; buildings have not. (See also “going back to work” as opposed to “returning to in-person work,” as if everyone has just been lying around doing nothing all these months. Oh, please. (I have been writing a lot about the topic of power dynamics and in-person work in my weekly newsletter. Read the most recent one here.)
The difference between saying “pro-life” versus “anti-abortion.” The same basic thing, referring to the same group, but vastly different implications in terms of framing the argument/discussion. The abortion debate gets nowhere because it’s, yes, a hot-button topic and many have deep feelings about the matter, but also because there are two different debates: one is about whether or not someone has the right to decide whether or not abortion is right for them, the other about whether or not abortion should be a thing. No progress will ever happen if two things are being debated under the guise of a singular debate. Period.
Saying “global warming” versus “climate change.” Show of hands if you have a relative who, when confronted with a chilly day, said something like, “whAt aBoUt gLobAl wAaaRmMmmiNg, huh?!?” Because saying “global warming” does imply, yunno, warming. Saying “climate change” refers to the myriad issues, increasingly dramatic weather patterns, and severe temperature changes we are experiencing right now in the climate crisis.
Which is all to say: accuracy the fuck matters, not only accuracy of the details we are writing about, but the words by which we describe those details. Challenge yourself not to follow the intellectually easy path and assume the dominant word or phrase being used for something is the right one or the best one. Think hard about language and use the words that more accurately describe what is.