There is something I've wanted to write about for some time; however, the right words have eluded me. It is a touchy subject that quite a few people are likely to have strong feelings about. The subject matter is about derogative terms or slurs. Let me say up front: I do not endorse, support, teach, or hold any prejudice against others based on their race, gender, creeds, sexual orientation, nationality, or any other circumstance of birth. The following article will be using some words viewed as derogative. However, I will not use them in a derogatory manner and will never do so. If something of that nature might upset you, I politely request that you move on to something else.

The late, great, George Carlin once said, "There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions, and wooooords." In other words, language is a tool—a means of communicating thoughts and ideas from one person to another or perhaps to many. A word is not a bad thing. It does not wait for you in a dark ally with a knife, waiting for you to lower your guard. The messages behind the word are very capable of causing harm: harmful thoughts, negative emotions, and dangerous ideas and intentions. The words let us know someone else may be dangerous. They may use words to cut like a knife, but it is what is behind the words, the hate in someone's heart, that is bad. Words are not bad, but they do have power.

As soon as children learn to speak, they quickly realize the power of words. We all know the playground adage, sticks, and stones may break my bones, however, we can see the fallacy in such a statement. But there is a way to diffuse the power behind harmful derogative terms. In the 1970s, the LGTQ+ community made a bold statement. The slogan, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it," became a rallying cry of unity and perseverance. This slogan began something in linguistics known as "reclamation." it is believed that "queer" was used as a derogative beginning between 1894 and 1914. what started in the '70s was finally cemented in the '80s and soon became reappropriated by those who were once harmed by it. More so, the reclamation of queer was inclusive, that is, heterosexual persons were not shunned from using the word in its reclaimed meaning. The same can be said for the words limp-wristed, Dyke, flamer, sod, twink, lesbo, fairy, and queen. Keep in mind that not all of these words have been universally reclaimed nor inclusively reclaimed. Instead, they may be possessive to those who identify with the word. If you're unsure which is which, I would refrain from using and asking a friend who identifies as LGBTQ+. For example, a few weeks ago at work, my partner, who self-identifies as a dyke and uses the word at least once a day, suggested that I help her move something heavy by "let's get two dykes up here pushing on this to move it." it took me a moment to register what she called me, and I laughed.

Another word that has been reattributed is one familiar to children and adults alike and came as a surprise when I learned its history. Goombah. That's right, the little brown mushroom monster of the Mario brothers. Goombah is historically a slur for Italians. The 80s were a different time and place, and maybe goombah had fallen into such disuses no one remembered it, but it was a derogative slur. What makes it an interesting case is morally, only the people targeted by a derogative should be the ones to decide if they do or don't reclaim or reattribute a word. I guess people forgot that Mario wasn't a real Italian, and neither is Shigeru Miyamoto, last I checked. Yet, here we are, Goombah is now a video game mushroom monster and something that Italian plumbers jump on.

Something else that I've observed is here in the United States; There are two words that we have romanticized but are derogative elsewhere in the world. Gypsy and Bohemian. As a child, I grew up with Disney movies and songs by Cher and Queen; I was familiar with the words but not their impact across Europe. around eight years ago, another corrected me, "I shouldn't say that." I scoffed and questioned why, and even after hearing an explanation, I was skeptical and had to search the internet for myself. I've dropped Gypsy from my speech habits, but Bohemian is still around because I'm not going to call it "B-word Rhapsody." otherwise, it was never a word I used beforehand, anyway.

This is a missed opportunity for Romani people. The words are already romanticized in the U.S. People have only recently, in the last ten years, to the best of my observations and likely an incorrect statement, been shunning the word Gypsy. It could effortlessly be worn with pride here in the West. Instead, are we empowering the word to be hurtful again? We give power to those who discriminate and use their words to hurt others. Unfortunately, I don't have a drop of Romani heritage and can claim no rights to reclaim either of these labels, but I would like to see them reclaimed for the Romani's sake.

I'm going to close this article with a short list of words. Linguistic reclamation, reappropriation, and resignification have been happening for thousands of years; language evolves and changes with the times. The following words were all derogative slurs once: Cavalier, Yankee, Anarchism, Jesuit, Methodism, Quakers, Protestant, Pagan, Baster, Black, Curry, Jew (Can still be seen as a pejorative), Smoggie, White trash, Wog, Impressionist, and Mad.

Final thoughts: George R.R. Martin wrote in his book, "A Game of Thrones," Tyrion Lannister speaking to Jon Snow, "Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."