Let’s Talk about Name-calling

It’s really hard to resist. Some people, some behaviors, some situations, seem to cry out for a clever or apt nickname. Some are okay, like Broadway Joe or Slammin’ Sammy. Others are pejorative, meant to belittle or humiliate.

Those are the ones you have to avoid.

In a disagreement, it’s easy to resort to name-calling, but it’s an ignorant, nasty way to operate. Consider how childish a person has to be to argue, not with facts or information, but with attempts to hurt an opponent's feelings.

It starts when we're young. A friend once confessed that all her life she felt like she was overweight because kids on the playground called her “Fatty Patty.” She was never overweight; I suppose it was the rhyme that appealed to kids, but only to those unkind enough to think hurting another person’s feelings is funny. For me it was kids who thought it was funny to call me "Piggy." Kids can be cruel, but let’s be real: they learn such behavior from adults who never really grew up.

Our former President was prone to name-calling, and it was one thing he was pretty good at. All I can say about that is “How sad to be leader of the free world and contribute nothing but nastiness.”

If we disagree, and we will, let’s not descend to name-calling. It doesn’t solve a thing, and once it starts, the argument deteriorates. It’s often really tempting to join the mud-slinging, but what we really need to do is expose the hypocrisy, fight the lies, and defend our school.

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