Ode to Words (Part 2): Word Soup
Photo by Pierre Chatel Innocenti on Upsplash As I mentioned in Ode to Words (Part 1): One Line Wednesday , I recently attended a workshop on racial and gender equity. While there, and as part of the workshop, I was exposed to words that were mostly unfamiliar to me: systemic oppression…equity-focused…gender justice lens…power imbalances…patriarchy…unpacking white privilege…micro aggressions…gender policing…monosexism…tokenism…White Fragility…intersectionality… As I listened, perplexed, and watched others around me nodding and murmuring understanding, I felt oddly…isolated. Have you ever played that game with yourself where you repeat a common, known , word over-and-over until it loses all meaning, all sense ? Words are funny things, aren’t they? They can be powerful and meaningful—listen to any Barack Obama speech —or absurd—read any of DonaldTrump’s tweets , or heck listen to him speak extemporaneously. systemic oppression…equity-focused…gender justice lens…power ...