Over the years of my existence I have noticed that the use of prejudicial language has evolved from being used casually in everyday conversation- to being regulated vigorously by lawmakers in a response to special interest groups who may be offended by the language itself. The issue as a whole has generated much controversy and debate about (and blurred the lines of) the idea of free speech in America, while some preach tolerance and sensitivity- others (like myself) take more of a stance of promoting reality and freedom. This of course is not a popular belief in our ever-changing society, but it does seem to be more on the practical side in my opinion. I like to think of the expression: “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know”- this to me is not only a reasonable answer as to why George W. Bush was elected for the Presidency twice, but it is also a good representative term of why we should be able to express our true feelings without penalty. Presently, no one who is in the public’s spotlight has the right to practice free speech, penalties are swift and severe for those who make the attempt; it all goes back to my arguments on Political Correctness, how can we protect ourselves from the wolves, when the wolves are forced to wear sheep’s clothing? I think that we can all agree that we would rather know and be prepared ahead of time rather than face sudden realizations that catch us off guard. Most recently, Kobe Bryant of the world champion Los Angeles Lakers made an insensitive remark to a referee after getting charged with a technical foul, this remark sparked outrage in the gay and lesbian communities- and consequently Kobe was fined $100,000 by the NBA, even though the target of his insensitive statement was not gay. Kobe’s poor choice of words is nothing new, he wasn’t the first to say things like that and he won’t be the last; and this is due to the fact that we’re just not that far along in our national evolutionary process, there are still too many of us from the “old school” lingering around for the new system to be implemented as quickly as some would like. I don’t believe that the media is fully to blame for why we use racial, sexist, or insensitive statements- I believe that that blame is to be placed with one’s self and whom they’ve allowed to influence them. The media didn’t create this problem, but it also hasn’t helped either; prejudicial language is promoted in certain types of books, movies/ television and music, but it’s not like you turn on the news to see your favorite newscaster telling you what to believe or say, as I said before we are responsible for what we allow to influence us. I’m tired of people blaming media sources for our shortcomings, we need to not only take responsibility for our own actions, but we also need to allow others to express themselves freely. Sure prejudicial language can hurt, but that doesn’t mean that we as a people shouldn’t adapt to this by growing thick skin rather than forcing others to store their true feelings away.
