What is a Slur?

Slurs permeate through our daily lives whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. They are spoken in the same sentence as other biased, hurtful, and offensive language and are often dismissed as "jokes". However, you and I both know that regardless of intention, a slur is a slur, and the message of hatred is clear.

When people use racist “jokes,” slurs or stereotypes, there is a profound impact. It harms the people directly targeted and those who identify in that same way and it also sends a message to others that doing such a horrible act of racism is generally "okay". In the long run, it contributes to the internalized racism of those who are on the receiving end. And it leads to an increasing escalation of hate, bias and injustice in society. So when we see such situation occurring, we need to stop it when friends, acquaintances, children, parents/family members, peers, co-workers, neighbors and elected officials either make the comments themselves, remain silent, make excuses or defend biased and stereotypical language.

It is important that we know, through our words and actions, that slurs and other biased language are unacceptable. We need to actively confront that language when we hear it, refrain from using it ourselves and educate ourselves and encourage all around us to do the same.