Most writers in media forums seem to prize nothing more than the first amendment. Even mentioning the word censorship will have them threatening legal action, or referencing some type of Press Law center. The word censorship comes with an extensive history and definition in the world of free speech—it is often associated with an extreme. It must lead to the extreme dystopias portrayed by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-four published in 1949 or perhaps the portrayals in Wachowski’s 90’s pop culture film The Matrix, or his recent 2005 film V for Vendetta: a method of government control, to create a world where “Big Brother” controls every thought and action. This poorly suited analogy is a fallacy. I do view freedom of speech as a valuable right; however, I also believe that the media should strive to use less inflammatory rhetoric in its publications.
There are appropriate times for most kinds of language. One would choose different vocabulary when speaking to a child, a boss, a parent or a friend. In the same way, appropriate language must be used in media forums to show respect or promote safety. Just using the word “bomb” may not end well in an airport and the word “fire” is not recommended in a movie theater when there is no fire. Just as inappropriate language can cause turmoil in everyday life, when magnified through the media it can also cause disaster in the larger world.
Let us take a step back, and look at the rhetoric used in the media, and what it is causing.
Being both Middle Eastern and Hispanic in this country, I know that I am viewed through the lens of various stereotypes. When I was a child, there were many times when people would associate my Iranian background with terrorism or other extremisms. Joking or not, I still find this offensive, but I know it is media-influenced. A little more than a decade after 9/11 such words and stereotypes are still rampant. Despite this, I always felt safe at school. However, one article in my Arizona high school newspaper published during my senior year turned my world upside down.
People often do not understand the power of words. The content of the article was not the issue; I respect the right to have and express an opinion, whether I agree with it or not. However, the author of this particular article took a piece on nuclear power and turned it into a rant of hate-speech against the Iranian people, comparing them to Nazis and painting them in a negative way by using hateful words, claiming the public should have nightmares about a people hell bent on an ideology of oppression and hate, referring to Iranian people as terrorists. Had these words and comparisons been avoided, the article would have not created such discomfort for my fellow Iranian-American classmates and me. This was like yelling “fire” in a theater where there was no fire. The use of one word ignited panic, and people began to react. It only takes one person to believe that the “fire” exists for chaos to begin. I saw people severing friendships based on the way the rhetoric in the article made them feel. I saw people ripping the article out of the paper. I saw people feel unsafe in their own high school. This was not an isolated case of harassment created by ideas in the media. Later on in high school I saw a fellow classmate reach the point of taking his own life because of bullying and harassment due to his sexual orientation. Whether spoken or written and regardless of specific target, inflammatory rhetoric, even with no intent, of harm leads to harassment, hostility, bullying, and the promotion of stereotypes everywhere.
Just turn on the television and watch. Read the newspaper. Go to any news source. Children commit suicide because of bullying based on their sexual orientation. Fifteen-year-olds are beaten up to the point of internal bleeding and memory loss simply for having a Muslim background. The bullying and harassment in today’s schools are tomorrow’s tragedies. All of these crimes stem from the media. Senator Gabrielle Gifford’s shooting in Tucson was linked to insensitivity in the media, as well as was the more recent Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin. Numerous other hate crimes recently in the news were instigated by the use of inflammatory rhetoric in media. Heightened tolerance and sensitivity—especially through media forums—can prevent these catastrophes.
There is no need for hate-speech in media and news forums. There are dozens of ways to convey the same messages with the same power without igniting hostility and harassment against particular members of society. Through confronting my high school, I was able to create change in its censorship policies. I faced much difficulty in doing this and it took months for an official apology. I first contacted the staff in charge of the publication. Especially in a school setting, I knew what had occurred was not right. I used testimonies from students at the school, and the law was on my side. A school newspaper does not fall under the same first amendment rights as regular publications. In fact, an incident like this easily falls under Title IX, which states that there should be no discrimination in any education program. Unfortunately though, for a while it seemed as if the teachers were more concerned with protecting the first amendment right than the welfare of their students. However, this is not just an issue in schools; this is comparable to the way it is with the welfare of people everywhere.
Each word acts as a seed. Each word can grow in a person’s mind given the proper conditions, or it can remain dormant. However, if provided with water, oxygen and proper temperature it can grow into a plant—a thought. These negative words will cultivate into plants with thorns, and spikes. Thorns and spikes that will puncture. Punctures that will cause pain and hardship to innocent people. Essentially, we reap what we sow. But in this case, the seeds stem from the words planted by the media in large quantities.
No matter how different we are—with different beliefs, sexual orientations, races, origins, religions, languages, and values—we are all human beings. We all laugh, hurt, smile and cry. And we all want respect. I am not asking for people to alter their views and opinions, but next time they write or speak, they might think about the words they are using.
Words do not necessarily cause people to commit horrible hate-crimes. Maybe using inflammatory rhetoric will not cause most people to take these kinds of negative actions. However, it only takes one person to construe these words in a way that will cause one of these disasters. It takes only one person to hurt the lives of many. One person to assume the minority is the majority. One person to take one statement or joke to an extreme. These are the kind of crimes we can prevent. Just because it is covered by free speech, or does not have bad intent, does not make it acceptable.
It is time to remember what kind of language is appropriate by looking at the audience. An audience that includes children, bosses, parents and friends. This all comes down to a simple, and logical, rule that we can easily forget. We have all heard it before, and you will probably hear it again—and it even applies to media forums: treat others the way you want to be treated. This is not about “Big Brother”. This is not about control. This is about being respectful to fellow human beings.
There are appropriate times for most kinds of language. One would choose different vocabulary when speaking to a child, a boss, a parent or a friend. In the same way, appropriate language must be used in media forums to show respect or promote safety. Just using the word “bomb” may not end well in an airport and the word “fire” is not recommended in a movie theater when there is no fire. Just as inappropriate language can cause turmoil in everyday life, when magnified through the media it can also cause disaster in the larger world.
Let us take a step back, and look at the rhetoric used in the media, and what it is causing.
Being both Middle Eastern and Hispanic in this country, I know that I am viewed through the lens of various stereotypes. When I was a child, there were many times when people would associate my Iranian background with terrorism or other extremisms. Joking or not, I still find this offensive, but I know it is media-influenced. A little more than a decade after 9/11 such words and stereotypes are still rampant. Despite this, I always felt safe at school. However, one article in my Arizona high school newspaper published during my senior year turned my world upside down.
People often do not understand the power of words. The content of the article was not the issue; I respect the right to have and express an opinion, whether I agree with it or not. However, the author of this particular article took a piece on nuclear power and turned it into a rant of hate-speech against the Iranian people, comparing them to Nazis and painting them in a negative way by using hateful words, claiming the public should have nightmares about a people hell bent on an ideology of oppression and hate, referring to Iranian people as terrorists. Had these words and comparisons been avoided, the article would have not created such discomfort for my fellow Iranian-American classmates and me. This was like yelling “fire” in a theater where there was no fire. The use of one word ignited panic, and people began to react. It only takes one person to believe that the “fire” exists for chaos to begin. I saw people severing friendships based on the way the rhetoric in the article made them feel. I saw people ripping the article out of the paper. I saw people feel unsafe in their own high school. This was not an isolated case of harassment created by ideas in the media. Later on in high school I saw a fellow classmate reach the point of taking his own life because of bullying and harassment due to his sexual orientation. Whether spoken or written and regardless of specific target, inflammatory rhetoric, even with no intent, of harm leads to harassment, hostility, bullying, and the promotion of stereotypes everywhere.
Just turn on the television and watch. Read the newspaper. Go to any news source. Children commit suicide because of bullying based on their sexual orientation. Fifteen-year-olds are beaten up to the point of internal bleeding and memory loss simply for having a Muslim background. The bullying and harassment in today’s schools are tomorrow’s tragedies. All of these crimes stem from the media. Senator Gabrielle Gifford’s shooting in Tucson was linked to insensitivity in the media, as well as was the more recent Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin. Numerous other hate crimes recently in the news were instigated by the use of inflammatory rhetoric in media. Heightened tolerance and sensitivity—especially through media forums—can prevent these catastrophes.
There is no need for hate-speech in media and news forums. There are dozens of ways to convey the same messages with the same power without igniting hostility and harassment against particular members of society. Through confronting my high school, I was able to create change in its censorship policies. I faced much difficulty in doing this and it took months for an official apology. I first contacted the staff in charge of the publication. Especially in a school setting, I knew what had occurred was not right. I used testimonies from students at the school, and the law was on my side. A school newspaper does not fall under the same first amendment rights as regular publications. In fact, an incident like this easily falls under Title IX, which states that there should be no discrimination in any education program. Unfortunately though, for a while it seemed as if the teachers were more concerned with protecting the first amendment right than the welfare of their students. However, this is not just an issue in schools; this is comparable to the way it is with the welfare of people everywhere.
Each word acts as a seed. Each word can grow in a person’s mind given the proper conditions, or it can remain dormant. However, if provided with water, oxygen and proper temperature it can grow into a plant—a thought. These negative words will cultivate into plants with thorns, and spikes. Thorns and spikes that will puncture. Punctures that will cause pain and hardship to innocent people. Essentially, we reap what we sow. But in this case, the seeds stem from the words planted by the media in large quantities.
No matter how different we are—with different beliefs, sexual orientations, races, origins, religions, languages, and values—we are all human beings. We all laugh, hurt, smile and cry. And we all want respect. I am not asking for people to alter their views and opinions, but next time they write or speak, they might think about the words they are using.
Words do not necessarily cause people to commit horrible hate-crimes. Maybe using inflammatory rhetoric will not cause most people to take these kinds of negative actions. However, it only takes one person to construe these words in a way that will cause one of these disasters. It takes only one person to hurt the lives of many. One person to assume the minority is the majority. One person to take one statement or joke to an extreme. These are the kind of crimes we can prevent. Just because it is covered by free speech, or does not have bad intent, does not make it acceptable.
It is time to remember what kind of language is appropriate by looking at the audience. An audience that includes children, bosses, parents and friends. This all comes down to a simple, and logical, rule that we can easily forget. We have all heard it before, and you will probably hear it again—and it even applies to media forums: treat others the way you want to be treated. This is not about “Big Brother”. This is not about control. This is about being respectful to fellow human beings.
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