One of my mentors, (Debra Lynn Katz) emailed me the other day on this topic. I was included in an e-mail dialog amongst Debra, myself and a few other African American friends of hers.
Debra wanted to be sensitive about borrowing this term in a project she is working on, not wanting to offend anyone.
Having been discriminated against for being either black, gay, psychic, or “looking a certain way” (or all of the above), I thought that my candor on this subject may be met with a stinky eye with others on the list.
Why?
Well, this may come as a surprise for some, (especially a few on her list) but there is not any one black person that can speak for all black people. Or any five. (Or one gay person, or one psychic). Even if we think all of “us” (who ever “us” is) think the same way – we don’t.
People often get riled up over the smallest of things, perpetuating the idea of separatism, & NOT embracing the concept of oneness (which I believe we all can strive for.)
Example: I was hanging out with a friend of mine and her baby, who she lovingly calls “monkey.” She “caught herself” & asked me: “Do you find that offensive?” “Are you shittin’ me?” I thought.
“Why would I be offended?” I asked.
Well – another friend of hers suggested that she not use the word “monkey” around black people… lest “they” get offended.
For the record, I can tell you that I don’t know any black people who get offended when anyone uses the word “monkey”.
And I can also tell you though, that as an Intuitive, I’ve been discriminated against by merchant services including Intuit (oddly enough) and ProPay (who blatantly told me that they do not partner with “witches, psychics and spell-casters.”)
Both services are still available….even with their blatant ignorance.
Which brings me to my point: My suggestion to Debra was to go ahead and use it. People who will be offended, will be offended. People who won’t be offended, wont.
Her intention is what matters.
We all need to ask ourselves two questions when we feel offended:
- Why is it that feeling being triggered in the first place?
- What “story” in YOU is ready to be rewritten & healed?
My two cents…
