I’m writing an opinion piece for my school newspaper about my thoughts on banning “offensive” forms of expression: words, clothing etc…
I’m not quite finished with it yet, I still need to finish my concluding paragraph but I wanted to be critiqued by this cool online community first. Please let me know what you dislike/like and what you suggest I should change. Thanks!
Here it is:
What is considered derogatory language is controversial and differs from person to person depending on one’s culture.
The NYC Department of Education has made a proposal to ban words like Dinosaur, Halloween, and even Christmas from being spoken on school grounds and even from being on school exams. A group dedicated to people with developmental disabilities in Florida, The Art of Florida, is urging the ban of the word “retard.” Also, in Connecticut, Tyrrell Middle School, banned students from wearing OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) band apparel.
These are but few examples of student’s freedom of expression being aspersed.
As stated in the Bill of Rights, which utterly includes even vagrants, there should be “…no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,” which is exactly what students across the nation are being deprived from.
Instead of depriving students, a more suitable resolution would be to educate them in order to preempt any more vexation than there already is. Students should understand morals, theirs and those of others. Both perspectives of the issue should be extrapolated in order for students to come to an understanding as to why some words, images or phrases evoke certain negativity.
There are several words in the English language that have become sullied due to equivocal meanings such as “retard”. These words can be one of several topics of discussion and students can take into account their opposing views and it would then become a matter of morals and self-control.
As for offending religion, schools, just as the U.S., are bio-diverse. Cultural conflicts are perpetual, albeit that shouldn’t excuse any denial of freedom. As mentioned above, NYC proposed to ban the word Dinosaur due to its suggestion on evolution which contradicts creationists’, though this also leads to traditional (and even current) conflicting views on homosexuality. It then becomes an issue of discrimination.
Just as the word “Government” may offend anarchists, the word “Black” may offend African Americans, and even my opinion can offend a large group of people…
Andreadesirepen 