Racial Slurs, Words of Hate

Words of Hate “Sticks and stones may brake my bones, but words will never hurt me”, goes one old playground rhyme. We are usually taught to ignore a person who uses foul language, but everyone knows that words can really hurt a person. When someone uses hateful words against us, it can hurt just as much as a slap or a punch. When people start to use obscenities with ethnic or racial slurs, it can push some sensitive buttons. Racial slurs used in a joking manner leads to others using it in a condescending manner, which ultimately leads to violence and feelings of hatred. From my experience, racial slurs can cause the most extreme negative reactions in people. Racial slurs often induce violence, but with more of a reason by some, because they may feel as if they are defending their race. Obscene language can often spark a negative reaction; sometimes turning violent and can elevate into a situation into something we regret. I can recall a time when using racial slurs got out of hand during an English class my senior year in high school. No one in my class took the word “nigger” too seriously, but there was one Asian student, Sae bin, who in particular was very comfortable using this word. There was one other African American student, Dewayne, who was friends with him, and took it as a joke when Sae bin used that word. When Sae bin yelled out to Dewayne, “You niggers don’t know how to do anything”, he was offended. Dewayne told Sae bin he was not allowed to talk to him that way, but Sae bin defended himself by saying, “ I have heard you yell that to all your black friends so many times, what is the difference if I say it?” “ Because you are not black! You can not say it in a way where you are not joking around.”, Dewayne replied. The two went back and fourth arguing, while tempers started to flare. When Dewayne could not control his anger no longer, he threw the first punch leading to a physical fight right in the middle of class.
Many times, the people who