An area of our everyday lexicon that really bugs me is that of the vernacular pertaining to drug users. The nicknames and stereotypical punnery are that main source of reprehension for me, and the main one has to be “crackhead”, although “junkie” does come in close second. I find the terminology lacking in all fundamental charisma that is necessary to hold down a topic of interest within a conversational circumstance, nevertheless being totally inept of dignity. There may be an argument for hilarity, although context matters with such reasoning. As well, there seems to be an essential ignorance at play within our cultural dynamics that is devoid of compassion, and is moreover degrading, when we believe the tragedy of addiction within the lives of our more vulnerable populations to be laughable.
I think the argument over “politically correct” culture being regressive is weak when faced with the undying sensitivity and heartbreak of individual’s on the brink of collapse who are then further pulverized by verbal punches from those who find their need for a few seconds of laughter more valuable than the pain of the subject at hand. It is no surprise that such individuals commit suicide, and one would think this would give the rhetorician’s pause and contemplate other avenue’s of humor that may find them that success with their respective audiences that they so crave. Alas, no, the addiction of the positive reception over the mockery of the dismay of another addict is too satisfying once embarked upon to just so easily give up once the victim has become a corpse; they will even go on to mock the corpse, or worse, encourage others to follow suit.
I’m not saying there is some way to suddenly make things better. The best thing to do would be to watch my own language, which I have done successfully. That is another thing bothers me about the people who still use such language; what is holding them back from evolving out of such hateful dialogue? I like to think people are dealing with their own pain and that is sort of understandable. But if everyone is dealing with pain, why can’t they recognize that in someone else before calling them a “crackhead”? Plus, the generalization and stereotypification gives off a sense of lacking in research or education. The thrill within the naughtiness of shedding light on such negative preconceived notions may be desirable, that is to say, “he says what he thinks!” or, “he says what everyone’s thinking!”. I find such logic repugnant, and the sensitivity one receives from the comics, as it were, is mind boggling if you start to ponder upon the hypocrisy of such an attitude.
Irony notwithstanding, the contradictory position of taking offense to an overt attempt at spotlighting stigmatized speech feels godforsaken in its naivete. If it wasn’t enough that they had to point their weapons at the weak and helpless, now they gawk at the notion that someone their own size (or bigger) is fighting back on behalf of those who would otherwise never have a say in the matter. The whole thing is encapsulated in the whole “Indian” “Native” “Indigenous” battle over what we should call people who are just short of not existing entirely. Why take offense to me telling you they’re not Indians? Are you really that big of a stickler for Christopher Columbus? It all reeks of contrarianism, because what ties do these people have to such words? My best explanation is that people prefer hearing language they were raised on, and that includes the words that spilled out of daddy’s mouth in those earliest memories.
The main takeaway here is that we are all sensitive. That does not seem likely to change, but I believe we should keep fighting for what we believe, nay, know to be true. In the short term, the wrong may win the day, heck, the wrong may even win for a few years. Eventually, though, as history has proven time and time again, progress wins in the long term. In fact, it’s logistically impossible without the stagnation and downfall of society as we know it. This notion does beg the question, for those resisting progressive change, would you rather the imminent demise of life as we know it, or can you maybe come up with a better joke?