Verbal Diarrhea

In a word of politically correct speech I feel that our freedom of the first amendment has truly been squelched. In saying this, however, I think there are words that should not be misused. The following list is clearly not comprehensive. It merely lists a few words that I personally find offensive when taken out of context.

1. Nazi

The term “Nazi” refers to
“1: a member of a German fascist party controlling Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler

2a: one who espouses the beliefs and policies of the German Nazis : fascist
b: one who is likened to a German Nazi: a harshly domineering, dictatorial, or intolerant person” (Merriam-Webster Online).

When the term is used incorrectly, for instance, “She’s such a uniform Nazi,” or “Don’t be such a Nazi!” I find it intolerable. As someone whose family was directly affected by the Holocaust I find it disgraceful that people would just toss the word around. For me the word recalls stories and experiences that are gruesome and painful. Mean teachers or parents are not deserving of the word. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t evil, but using the word “Nazi” to describe them undermines the events of WWII. I am not saying that the word is “holy” or “untouchable,” but I believe that its misuse dishonors the Jews who suffered in the Holocaust.

2. Cancer

Alas, yet another personal anecdote. My father was diagnosed with cancer when I was still in high school. I never noticed how much the word is used out of context. My AP English professor was constantly using the word for humor—“The syntax of this prose is like cancer—unacceptable!” or “Dante has cancerous blobs emerging from the depths in Cantos X.”

Cancer is a disease. I’ve read books full of jokes about cancer—written by cancer patients for cancer patients. They are hilarious! But using the term to get a reaction out of students or to appear amusing is unacceptable. Millions of people are suffering as a result of this disease. Families are grieving. How low can society sink? We’re taking shots at people who are ill. Why not find another analogy—perhaps one with true literary merit—rather than taking low swings at ill individuals?

3. OCD or ADD

I know several people with one of the above conditions. These are probably the most misused of the bunch. If one is bored they are suddenly “ADD.” If an individual keeps shuffling through different songs on iTunes they say they have “song ADD.” If someone has to make sure they turned off the stove before they leave home they jokingly tell their friends “I have OCD.” If someone has to eat their lunch in a certain order people will laugh and say, “OCD!!!” These are serious illnesses! If someone stumbled downtown and joked that they had “MS” or “polio” would we find it as funny? It would be rather disgusting to watch.

Just because you can’t see an illness doesn’t mean that these people aren’t suffering. My friend with OCD constantly has disturbing images flashing through her mind—she’s terrified that people will see her as “weird” or “bizarre” or “different.” When people MOCK these diseases and make light of them like they are nothing serious it HARMS people who actually have the disease.

Yes, we have the freedom to use these words any way we please. But maybe that freedom should be used for the betterment of society rather than degrading those who suffer. I understand that society uses humor to deal with uncomfortable situations. At a certain point, however, culture needs to be mature enough to deal with these atrocious subjects rather than use them for attention.