“Language is a struggle”
-bell hooks
It is indeed very difficult to divorce oneself from the intrinsically prejudicial or even racist linguistic paradigms rooted in a history of colonialism. These paradigms lock us in the ever-so-famous dichotomies of same/different, us/them, white/black, man/woman, straight/gay, etc. It is within these binary systems that power dynamics persist; one side always superseding the other. It is with this rhetoric that we perpetuate “colonization”. We need to be very cautious not to partake in this language game and learn to view our fellow human beings as empowered individuals.
As we look to affect change in this world, we need to abandon the colonizer’s attitude, or “the white man’s burden” of civilizing the Others. Instead, the first step to sustainable development is to recognize one’s agency!
-Assia
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