From Jennifer Rikkers
Monroe
To the editor:
Words matter. We all know how the words we say have an effect on others.
Recently, I tuned into a local radio station's morning show to hear a tasteless and disrespectful joke based on cultural stereotypes. The broadcaster prefaced this joked by saying it was politically incorrect. Which might somehow excuse what he is about to say? No, it does not. The joke was intended to illicit responses from the listeners. The broadcaster said, "Abdullah the Sheikh and his 100 wives are "-this-" (fill in the blank). Two of the other broadcasters chimed in responding "not over 16" and the other said something about the women not being attractive. I turned the radio channel off before I could hear how the listeners would participate in this public and disrespectful attempt at humor to a cultural group as well as to women.
As Rosalind Wiseman writes, "Words matter. Our words can comfort and express that we understand or that we 'see' the other person in front of us. And of course, our words can do the opposite: They can hurt, isolate and make someone feel insignificant. For better or for worse, our words signal our values and beliefs".
This sort of humor serves only one purpose, which is to marginalize people of other cultures at their expense. Humor like this is not humor, but in actuality perpetuates racial and cultural stereotypes about groups of people.
This is not about being politically correct. This is about respect. Words have power. Words can shape generations. Words can inspire or degrade people. In this case disrespectful words cloaked in humor were broadcast across the miles thoughtlessly. Too often we turn a blind eye to such jokes. The next time you hear someone say something xenophobic or culturally disrespectful and cloak it in humor, ask yourself if these words matter to you.
Monroe
To the editor:
Words matter. We all know how the words we say have an effect on others.
Recently, I tuned into a local radio station's morning show to hear a tasteless and disrespectful joke based on cultural stereotypes. The broadcaster prefaced this joked by saying it was politically incorrect. Which might somehow excuse what he is about to say? No, it does not. The joke was intended to illicit responses from the listeners. The broadcaster said, "Abdullah the Sheikh and his 100 wives are "-this-" (fill in the blank). Two of the other broadcasters chimed in responding "not over 16" and the other said something about the women not being attractive. I turned the radio channel off before I could hear how the listeners would participate in this public and disrespectful attempt at humor to a cultural group as well as to women.
As Rosalind Wiseman writes, "Words matter. Our words can comfort and express that we understand or that we 'see' the other person in front of us. And of course, our words can do the opposite: They can hurt, isolate and make someone feel insignificant. For better or for worse, our words signal our values and beliefs".
This sort of humor serves only one purpose, which is to marginalize people of other cultures at their expense. Humor like this is not humor, but in actuality perpetuates racial and cultural stereotypes about groups of people.
This is not about being politically correct. This is about respect. Words have power. Words can shape generations. Words can inspire or degrade people. In this case disrespectful words cloaked in humor were broadcast across the miles thoughtlessly. Too often we turn a blind eye to such jokes. The next time you hear someone say something xenophobic or culturally disrespectful and cloak it in humor, ask yourself if these words matter to you.
