by Chloe Cha ‘28

And just like that, it feels like slurs are a thing heard on a daily basis. The hurtful words and gestures that were used to make minority groups feel inferior, or “less than,” are now back as a more normal thing to hear. Why is it so normalized? Why do we hear at least one slur in school or see it in social media comments regularly? Social media and influence culture has a lot to do with it.

A study from Kantar Social Listening reviewed 50 million social posts in the U.S. over two years about people with intellectual disabilities. Over two-thirds of posts were negative and nearly 29 million contain slurs. Honestly, this is a total step backwards for this generation.

The use of slurs or offensive indications have gotten so regularized to the point that celebrities are okay with mocking, saying, or using certain gestures that are hurtful towards marginalized groups. For example, this year on April 10, famous American podcaster Joe Rogan stated “the r-word is back and it’s one of the great culture victories,” not even 45 seconds into his show, The Joe Rogan Experience. He even has the nerve to say it with a laugh, apparently thinking it hilarious to use an offensive word for people with intellectual disabilities.

Also this year in July, President Donald Trump faced criticism after using a common antisemetic slur to describe bankers in the Iowa rally. During the event, Trump celebrated the passing of his budget bill by saying, “Think of that: No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker – and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people.” This term comes from the character Shylock, who is a ruthless Jewish money lender in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. Trump later claims he’s “never heard it that way” as a slur. However, Amy Spitalnick, head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), stated that Trump’s statement was “deeply dangerous … Shylock is among the most quintessential antisemitic stereotypes; this is not an accident.”

Thanks to “influencer culture,” high profile figures think it’s okay to use these slurs normally to “test the waters” in a sense, seeing how far they can push the boundaries of social acceptance. This all can trickle down to young students, who now think it’s acceptable and okay to use these offensive words for “fun” or because they think nobody will care because even the president of the United States can get away with using slurs so easily.

The recent rollback of DEI demonizes any form of political correctness, even if it’s calling out someone using a harmful slur. People should still be held accountable for saying or posting words that are offensive. Slurs historically are used to make minority groups feel inferior and high profile figures using them can influence our generation but also future generations as well. Using slurs shouldn’t be okay, especially in school environments. We need to take steps forward to be more inclusive and respectful as a generation, not backwards.