Masters and Slaves: rethinking our language
Here’s an experiment. Imagine hearing these words:
- They want to take your guns away
- You have pancreatic cancer (or another cancer: your choice)
- You’re a disappointment
- You’re credit card was declined
- You’re being audited
- I hate you
You’ve heard it before: words matter. Perhaps you nodded in theoretical agreement with the idea. But you quickly moved on because the words didn’t matter to you.
Consider the profound impact of the words Black Lives Matter. They evoke a response, often Police Lives Matter or All Lives Matter, revealing the complex power of language in shaping our perceptions.
I want to invite you back to a technology debate that occurred not so long ago. In many technology systems, one part of the network was responsible for divvying up jobs on the rest of the network (I’m oversimplifying here). The part of the system that controlled the other parts was called the master, and the other parts of the system were called slaves.
Many people argued that we should get rid of this Master-Slave terminology. It was quite the conflict!
For most privileged whites, the impact of this was lost. The terms Master and Slave were just how things were. They said we all use that language, so accept it and move on. Others strongly argued they were antiquated and loaded terms, so why use them?
Like the phrases we listed initially, the master-slave phrase carries unnecessary baggage. It’s not enough to say:
- Of course, I don’t mean that
- Let’s not make a big deal of something where nothing was intended.
We all - every one of us - have words that trigger fear, anger, and sadness. So, why do we insist that our trigger words are to be heeded when we won’t heed the trigger words of others? Our trigger words come from the stories we’ve heard or told. The trigger words of others come from their experience, too. For Blacks, their trigger words come from a long history of exploitation, racism, and abuse. In many ways, most of that continues to this day: far too frequently in police shootings.
My son is a police officer. Based on my experience, Police Lives do Matter. Most assuredly, All Lives Matter. But until we’ve reduced fears that Blacks experience when a police officer follows them or pulls them over, it’s worth us agreeing that Black Lives Matter. It’s not slight on all the other lives that matter. But let’s agree that there’s a reason for people to feel as they do.
Thankfully, the Master-Slave terminology (and it was a debate) has gone away. Some complained the change was just symbolic. So what if it was? Maybe some people came to appreciate that words matter. We have to share the world with other people’s symbols.
Imagine you and your ancestors have been historically targeted. If that’s hard to imagine, try this. You’re a gun owner. You’re told that a left-wing government wants to take your guns and rights away. You’re told this all the time. Eventually, you start to think they really are after your guns and rights. The words rights, guns, liberty, and freedom have special connotations. They - like Master-Slave - trigger your fears and concerns. Right or wrong, the words now have special meaning for you and activate certain defensive and fearful reactions.
Each group says their fears are more legitimate. How do we defang these painful words, respect the fears and concerns of others, and move forward together?
Ultimately, in the Master-Slave controversy, people asked, What do we have to lose by getting rid of that phrase? Like so many questions surrounding our angry modern sentiments, we might ask a similar question: What do we lose by reducing the sharp edges?
Respect individual preferences. We all have our story. At the same time, we have reason to ask for a commitment to the whole, to us as a people.
Here are some thoughts:
- Take the profit and status out of demagoguery.
- Spend more time with different cultures. Eat their food. See their kids. Go to their religious assemblies. Ask why you do this practice (my wife says I shouldn’t ask Why questions, so be careful about Why. If you ask Why, make sure it doesn’t come across as judgmental. What about your beliefs or story makes this important? What does this practice symbolize?)
- Be less reactive. We all have trigger words and ideas. Remember that we are all on a continuum of tolerance and understanding for each idea. I’m ashamed of many beliefs and opinions I’ve held and acted on. I’ve had people from multiple races, cultures, sexual preferences, and beliefs give me a safe landing whereby I could safely examine my prejudices, fears, and triggers. We need to be less reactive to make a safer and better world.
- Stop talking about what’s wrong and discuss the world we want. What can we imagine as better?