Words have meanings. We all know that.
Words can carry emotional charges with them, too.
This story is not about current politics. I am using it as an example of how someone can be triggered by your choice of words.
My father’s family, except for two brothers, were all killed in concentration camps. Thus the use of the term to describe US detention facilities for those who cross the border illegally has a particular charge to it for me.
I understand the term is being used to create an image of what the camps are like to be in. They are, obviously, awful facilities. Yet no one is being taken to work each day and given a slice of bread each day as their sole food. No one is being ordered to be marched to ovens. If you have never seen what a prisoner in a concentration camp looks like, do a Google image search.
Your words at work may unintentionally cause a reaction in someone who carries a charge from an earlier episode in life. A friend of mine was called out a few weeks ago for using a term that I don’t know how to define its intent except to speak in a derogatory manner about someone when the term, literally, is about one man pleasuring another.
The use of the word was offensive and my friend had a blind spot.
You may have one or more, too.
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2019
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the
host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1200 episodes and his newest show, “No BS Coaching Advice” and is a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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