I started collecting these little sentences in my head, the intention behind them was to show that language matters. Arguably, it informs how we collectively perceive the world and how we live our lives. After all, I thought, aren’t our values formulated with words? While I’m not a linguist, I’m a fiction writer, an avid reader, and work a job that includes identifying and taking down disinformation. These gave me faith in the power of words, sentences, stories.
But, perhaps I was wrong. Or at least I had a blind spot. I still believe that stories are extremely powerful tools (after all Q-Anon, like all conspiracies, is based on a compelling story – one that resonates with certain American traditions, like not trusting the government). They are capable of creating and unraveling entire civilizations: capitalism (or neoliberalism) is buffered by real material oppression, but also stories we collectively believe in. While stories are made of words, I think that the certainty of what specific words mean has become distorted, sometimes poisoned, often rendered meaningless.
All these fringe artistic movements co-opted by brands (for more on the topic, check out Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin & Cory Doctorow), or the promises from political candidates that never come into action (the Republicans scamming the middle and working classes out of existence, or the Democrats repeatedly pretending to go after big business while getting bankrolled by Wall Street), all buffered by teary eyed leaders spouting patriotic clichés with hands on their hearts … When I look around me, I see lots of ways words are hollowed out. It never clicked.
Until, randomly, as I set to writing these little “don’t say… instead say…” bits, I started listening to Naomi Klein’s 2023 Doppelganger. She notes that words that used to carry concepts anchored on the Left have started to be used by conspiracist and hateful spheres; words like “fascist,” “othering,” and “fake news.”
While I believe that some words are still as powerful as ever (“genocide” for example), there is always the risk that they will be robbed of their substance and thrown back at us as bait or a weapon. In recent years, the French government has yielded several iterations of the word “eco-terrorist” to pit the majority of the population against environmental activists. This also conveniently worked to justify deploying warfare tactics and tools against unarmed civilians.
And so, as I write these lines, I am not convinced that words will be the key to a more desirable future for all. But, they can (and should) still be useful for crafting and conveying meaningful stories, narratives, and worldviews. To explore what’s outside of capitalism, or rethink how our view of things has been shaped. And so, with that, here is a fun list of some “don’t say … instead say” ideas I’ve written down. Ways to translate what has been said into meaningful ways of interpreting it.
Don’t say “I’m an entrepreneur,” instead say “I profit from the work of others.”
Don’t say “entrepreneur,” instead say “robber baron 2.0.”
Don’t say “this place is closed due to staffing issues,” instead say “the owner didn’t want to pay their workers what they deserved.”
Don’t say “people don’t want to work anymore,” instead say “we don’t want to work to enrich distant shareholders.”
Don’t say “private health insurance,” instead say “someone found a way to profit from sickness and misery.”
Don’t say “Donald Trump,” instead say “the Republican Party.”
Don’t say “I make $XX an hour,” instead say “$XX is the crumbs my boss leaves me.”
Don’t say “I bought a Tesla,” instead say “I am financing the American oligarchy.”
Don’t say “trickle down economics,” instead say “trickle up scam.”
Don’t say “I’m living paycheck to paycheck,” instead say “this isn’t a living wage.”
Don’t say “the Great Resignation,” instead say “that time when employees realized they were being exploited.”
Don’t say “Right vs. Left, Liberal vs. Conservative, etc…,” instead say “the Rich vs. the rest of us.”
Don’t say “if we tax them, they’ll leave the country,” instead say “where are they going to go”?
Don’t say “Taxed Enough Already,” instead say “most of my taxes are used to finance foreign wars and systems of oppression.”
Don’t say “it’s a free country” instead say, “democracy is for sale”
Don’t say “self made (wo)man” instead say, “they don’t exist without Us”
Don’t say “they’re successful business people” instead say, “they’re really good at taking credit for the work of others”
Don’t say “there’s a housing crisis” instead say, “landlords’ greed has gotten out of control.”
Don’t say “there is no alternative.”
