Stop saying "unalive" or "grape"!

"Unalive" "Sewerslide" "Pdf-file" "Grape" + more:

. . . 

Literally my biggest hatred in the world is for those words. And I completely understand if you are on an app like TikTok that bans those kinds of words, especially if you are genuinely trying to spread awareness. 

But dear God, if you are on Youtube or Instagram or any other site that isn't as strict, why the HELL are you saying "pdf file?" Beyond it being a joke of course. I'm gonna rip my hair out if I see another person seriously saying "sewer slide". Suicide is a tragedy. Many people never seek help because they are afraid of not being taken seriously. Does calling it "unalive/commit delete self/sewerslide" help that at all??? When you are being completely serious, and you can say the unfiltered word, why still resort the silly nickname?

I guess what my thinking here is that if people refer to these things with silly names, they can't be taken very seriously. It is a genuinely horrific crime to rape someone, to be a child molester, a domestic abuser. By using the dumbed down silly TikTok name for it, I feel like its impact is gone.

I'm not saying you should LIKE the word "rape" or "suicide" but because those words have a heavier meaning, they should be used especially in spreading news/awareness. Or substitutions like "SA", although have a similar meaning, is not actually the same thing as "rape". It still feels like its softened down to a lighter meaning, easier to be digested by people who don't want to think about heavier implications. 

I hope this isn't a stretch, but this feels similar as to schools banning books with the N-word in them, especially if they are historical (such as 'To Kill A Mockingbird' which gets regularly censored, especially in the South). No, that word shouldn't ever feel comfortable coming out of your mouth. It should feel so heavy with meaning and history that you should feel uncomfortable when its read out loud. Whenever someone says that word, you should FEEL the impact, maybe even a guilt or shame. The word has an impact, a serious meaning and history, but just... replacing it with a softer word? Many Huck Finn adaptations have been altered to say "negro" or "slave" instead. Racism has been nearly stripped from the book. That's fucking weak. 

I'll never say we should get rid of trigger warnings (unless they are abused for dumb reasons). But I do think it is a bit true that we are pretty sensitive nowadays. Don't take this as me being like "ooo snowflake liberals woke buzzword buzzword" because that's not what I mean. Liberals and conservatives can be pretty equally sensitive. I'm saying that a lot of us are so used to getting what we want, that we almost expect it. When someone uses a word that makes us uncomfortable, the immediate reaction is to censor it, or to joke about it. But there is a time and place for everything, and I think that most the time, it isn't. 

On a last note, I think of George Orwell's 1984, and the use of "newspeak"- words are cut down and so simplified that it prevents the public from original thought; it promotes obedience and many will be protected from exhibiting anger of rebellion- since a word that would illicit it wouldn't exist. Obviously an extreme but I think you understand what I'm getting at.

Have a nice day! :P

- KB☆