Remember to be politically correct. Right?

As a kid, when I was first told it was important in this country to be politically correct I was not sure what they meant. I can’t say certain words because they sound like other words that are considered racial slurs? It was not easy getting used to use certain language. In this nation words that are considered non-PC or even racial slurs are very common as a sign of affection in other parts of the world.


Slurs have the power we ascribe to them, and it is very difficult to understand where and when we can use them without having a negative connotation. Some people have told me it is okay for me to use certain slurs that pertain to the Hispanic community because I’m part of it, but what would happen if I were afro-Latino does that mean I can use slurs that pertain to the African –American community as well? We get so caught up on the meaning of words that sometimes we miss the big picture. We are using words to further separate ourselves from other cultures, and we are too scared to talk about it because it might offend someone.


It is time to integrate ourselves, to forget the taboos that are sometimes associated with words. I am not saying we should ignore history or the negative connotation some words have had in the past, but if we keep prohibiting certain words or making them “politically incorrect” we will end up not being able to talk about anything controversial or refer to certain groups without offending someone. The fact that the meaning of words lies on the reception or interpretation of them makes it even more difficult. If we don’t try to change this it will become a cycle: yesterday's acceptable word will be today’s offensive word and it will have to be replaced by a different word and so on.