MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

This was the language used by Nazis against Jews ("vermin"), Hutus against Tutsis ("cockroaches") and American slaveowners against slaves ("animals"). Once you've labeled people as animals, violence, murder and genocide will follow.

Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. Labeling human beings as animals is dangerous and despicable. History has shown that with such dehumanising stereotypes, words are weaponised into bloodshed. Every sneering and smearing rhetoric, scapegoating our fellow human beings  should be discouraged and denounced.

We need to start expunging all hate vocabularies and tropes in our communication with and about one another. We should appeal to the moral good in all aspects and manifestations our communicative interaction as human beings.

We read in the Epistles, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" ( Col 4:6).

We need to work at communication that enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for self and others. We should eschew every communication that threatens the quality of our humanity and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which we live.