Words....todays Nanotexts class definitely made me start thinking about words.
Words are more powerful than many people give them credit for. Thinking about it, nothing has meaning, can be expressed or even thought about without words. This of course isn't the first time I have thought about this. As a social justice advocate especially for the Queer community, words are essential.
The fight for rights is a process. Within the Queer community and the Ally community I continuously hear people say things like "I don't want to be labeled" or "why do we need to declare who we are?" I have realized that it is all about words. In order to fight for something, to fight for rights in this case, we must declare who it is that is fighting for rights. So the process must start with a problem, proceed to a declaration of identity, then hopefully an elimination of the need for an identity. In an ideal world, everyone could just be. There would be no need to declare what makes you different. There would be no need because everyone would be truly equal and able to live as they please.
This was a reflection after one day. I am quite excited to continue thinking and exploring words and the world of the small. The exploration of the minute being major.
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"Words are intrinsically powerful. They are magical. By means of words can one bring about physical change in the universe. By means of words can one quiet the raging weather, bring forth the harvest, ward off evil, rid the body of sickness and pain, subdue an enemy, capture the heart of a lover, live in the proper way, and venture beyond death. Indeed, there is nothing more powerful." - N. Scott Normandy
ReplyDeleteYeah...Sorry.
"Is our capacity to mourn in global dimensions foreclosed precisely by the failure to conceive of Muslim and Arab lives as lives?...
ReplyDelete..Live "terrorist," "slaughter is a word that, within the hegemonic grammar, should be reserved for unjustified acts of violence against First World nations, if I understand the grammar correctly." -- "Explanation and Exoneration, or What We Can Hear", Judith Butler
sorry the 2nd bit should start "like" and not "live"
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