(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Please stop saying ‘crazy’ [1] ['More From Author', 'February', 'Jake Cornett'] Date: 2023-02-12 On Tuesday night, like millions of Americans we cooked dinner, turned on our television, and listened intently to President Joe Biden offer his perspective on the State of Union. We stayed to also listen to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders from Arkansas give the Republican response to the president’s speech. Because I lived in Washington, D.C., for nearly a decade, what didn’t surprise me was the finger-pointing and fact-twisting. What shocked me was Sanders so freely calling people she disagrees with and the policies she doesn’t like as “crazy.” The terms “crazy” and “insane” are deeply stigmatizing to many people with mental illness. These terms bring to mind a wild-eyed man screaming and struggling in a straitjacket in a 1950s mental institution – evoking negative feelings of fear. People with mental illness are not that phony image. This stigma keeps people from seeking help, from finding treatment and from asking for the help they need. We are veterans, teachers and lawyers. We are your neighbors, family and coworkers. It’s time we stop using these terms. One-in-five Oregonians will experience mental illness in their lifetime. Casually labeling things we don’t like as “crazy” or “insane” is part of the culture that keeps hundreds of thousands of Americans from seeking and getting the help they need. Using the biggest public policy platform in America to reinforce that stigma to millions of Americans is irresponsible and harmful. For decades, we have worked as a community to eliminate another stigmatizing and ugly word from our laws and our speech – the “r-word.” It’s time we learn from that experience and evolve our language and word choices away from using “crazy” and “insane.” Our challenge is to not be lazy by relying on the terms “crazy” or “insane” – but to find better ways to describe the emotional impact of an experience. A key strategy that works is finding words that start with the same letter or are the same length as “crazy” and “insane” – then steadily working to substitute those words. For example, instead of saying “crazy awesome” – say “wildly awesome.” Or, instead of “insanely bad” – say “outrageously bad.” What’s important is that you find substitute words that work for you. And then work to change how you speak and write. This won’t happen overnight – that’s okay. In fact, you can help others think about this by correcting yourself when you’re speaking with friends, family, and coworkers. If you slip up, simply say, “you know what, I’m trying to stop saying the words crazy and insane because of how stigmatizing it can be. What I really mean is …” Language is powerful and often reflects the way we feel. Using the word “crazy” might seem harmless – but it can marginalize people. My message to Sanders, don’t worry – the “woke” police aren’t coming to fine you – but please learn from this. Real leaders don’t perpetuate stigmas and stereotypes. I hope you’ll take this message to heart and do a better job of finding the words you mean. Do it for the millions of people in Arkansas, Oregon and other states with a mental illness who deserve your respect. This commentary was published earlier by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/12/gov-sarah-huckabee-sanders-please-stop-saying-crazy/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/