Nerd Church - Wars of Words

Warning: this post discusses a lot of sh** that went down this week, including Nazis and a lot of bigotry.



Buckle your seatbelts, Cee's got some sh*t to lay down.

Words have power.




If you're reading this blog there's a chance that you already know this. The whole world moves, shakes, turns, and shimmies on words.

It's how we communicate, transfer ideas, and generally get on with the business of being human beans.





As such, most societies agree that freedom of speech is uber-uber-uber-important.

(Although, I've spoken before about the fine line of avoiding censorship vs. avoiding bigotry. I also don't pretend to have the answers on that!)





Freedom of speech, however, in whatever form you have it, does not include freedom from criticism.

If you say something racist, I'm allowed to say, 'Hey, that's racist.' I'm not censoring you. I'm giving an opinion (or a fact.)

If you stage a march shouting white supremacist slogans, I'm allowed to call you a f**king Nazi. It's how it works.








Unfortunately, there is this trend at the moment for, mainly right-wing, people to scream CENSORSHIP!!! whenever someone tells them which way the sh** is falling.

If, on the other hand, you tell them that their criticism of something was unfair, or biased, or bigoted, (again, not censoring, just saying,) they start yelling at you that you 'can't take criticism.'

Please, for the love of God, tell me you see the hypocrisy there.

And if you do, my sweet nerdlets, start to get frustrated and lash out (which is totally understandable, but I don't recommend it,) they caw triumphantly about how unreasonable and irrational these lefties are.






What is irrational is hatred. What is irrational is bigotry. What is irrational is spilling your vile hatred into the world in order to spread it like a disease.

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll have cause to say it again in my life: if you turn the lights off, right-wing extremists sound pretty damn similar to Islamic extremists.






What's sparked this meandering exploration of extremism and bigotry and the power of words?






Well, my dear ones, four things reminded me of how downright explosive - and powerful - words and language can be this week:

1. the tension with North Korea
2. the biased so-called 'article'* situation in the YA bookish community
3. the Nazi rally
4. a combination of Sports Direct and Newsnight

*I've linked to screenshots provided by twitter user @nickyoflaherty, not the actual article. Because clicks are currency.




Wait! I hear you cry. Sports Direct and Newsnight?! Wtf Cee?!

via GIPHY

Let me explain:




There is a looooooong history (I'm literally talking over a millennium,) of... issues... between Wales and England (and pretty much everyone else and England, to be honest.)

Due to centuries of oppression and a sense of entitlement from the general direction of England, the Welsh language was severely weakened and discriminated against.







As such, in 2011, we made a law. This law made both Welsh and English the official languages of Wales, completely and utterly equal in legal status.

So, a company - a sportswear company, for example - forbidding it's employees to speak Welsh to each other on the shop floor... welllll... such a thing would not only be raking over old wounds, it would also be illegal.








And just to top it all off, BBC's Newsnight decided to have a discussion about the Welsh language.

But Newsnight's discussion wasn't so much on language policy as on... whether the Welsh language is 'a help or a hindrance.'

WTAF NEWSNIGHT?!

via GIPHY

This is like the cr*p the UK government spread in the Victorian period about the language lowering our intelligence and holding us back.







We didn't keep the language alive for literally over a thousand years just for some TV show to question it.

And they didn't actually invite a Welsh speaker to appear on the programme. Seriously. MAYBE INVITE THE PEOPLE IT AFFECTS THE MOST.

Related post: Why I'm Hesitant to Read Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle

Yes, words mean A LOT. Don't you dare tell me they don't.



Words, alongside images and other forms of communication, shape the world we live in, and the way we perceive that world.

Someone with a vendetta may use words to place people in danger, maybe by releasing their full name to a hostile crowd and basically saying 'go get 'er!' only with words that never explicitly say that so that it can be denied to the very end.

via GIPHY

I don't want to talk too much about that 'article'* because the author has already gotten the attention that she wanted, but I will simply state my position:

*link is to screenshots provided by twitter user @nickyoflaherty

• I know most of the people being torn into in that 'article.' I consider many of them friends. They are good people. Anyone saying otherwise is being an a**h*le.

• The author of the 'article' is notoriously anti-diversity and has a personal grudge against Shauna; this includes apparently being part of a campaign of targeted harassment, over the course of months.

• I read Shauna's review when it first came out - it's an eloquent and detailed look at the representation in The Black Witch, full of valid and well thought-out points.

• This 'article's' purpose seems to be a personal attack on Shauna and others within the online community, thinly veiled by biased rhetoric.

And last, but not least:

• FREEDOM OF SPEECH DOES NOT MEAN FREEDOM FROM CRITICISM.

via GIPHY

As far as the North Korea situation goes... surely I don't need to tell you how serious that war of words is?

Because that's, like, NUCLEAR WAR, levels of serious.

And if that doesn't worry you, or prove that words are dangerous wriggly little beasts, then there's really nothing that I can say to convince you, is there?




And Nazis? They need to be called f**king Nazis.

Giving people who shout against Jews, quote Hitler, and give Nazi salutes, any other name is offensive.

The alt-right are a bunch of Nazi thugs. I will repeat that 'til my lungs give out.

THE PEOPLE AT THAT MARCH WERE NAZIS.

I refuse to engage people who are filled with that level of hatred in discussion. Yes, they have a right to say that sh** (although, technically, in England and Wales, they don't.)

I also have a right to not listen, and a right to say that they are Nazi b*****ds who are not worthy of my discourse.

What was my point to this whole blogpost?



Well... not entirely sure. But I think it was something to do with words. And them having power.

Basically, *gestures at cr*p I just spent a whole blog-post discussing* words are shaping our world. Right now.

They have great power. And with great power comes great responsibility (Sorry! Couldn't resist.)




Keep speaking out my nerdlets. Keep standing up and being counted. We can do this. Hatred will not win.









You can follow me on Twitter @CeeArrBookNerd, on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin, and on Google+. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page






Related Posts:

• Nerd Church - The Age of Media

• Nerd Church - No-One Wins

• Nerd Church - Winter Is Here

• Nerd Church - A Nazi is a Nazi