Blog Nine, "The Isms Epidemic, by Julie White

I heard it at school, I hear it on TV and I still hear it as an adult. What is it? It's the -isms. Those ugly words that bully people, make others feel bad or shame them for all sorts of unfair reasons. We've become experts at being mean.


Racism - In the 1940s, my mother attended a school in the high desert county of San Diego, CA. Only a handful of white children attended the school out of approx. 100 American Indian students. My mother, her sister, and a few other children suffered the teasing, fighting, and name calling that started in first grade.


Sexism is everywhere. It's in our media, movies, TV shows, music, and in our homes.  Ten days ago a social media movement started with the “#Metoo” campaign. Affecting millions of women and men, sexual harassment and assault is a silent epidemic and won't end until people stop tolerating it.  Sen Dianne Feinstein tweeted, “We will never end the harassment and abuse of women, in the workplace, unless we speak out and stand together. #Metoo.” Even Katie Couric added, “Goodnight everyone and oh yeah, #MeToo.”

Able-bodiedism – is the mistreatment of people with disabilities. This week the Standard-Examiner reported on a school that shaved the head of a seven-year-old girl without parental permission. “The Mother feels like her daughter, who already has severe emotional issues, was violated.”  This story also falls under Ageism. It's not just senior citizens or the middle age that are taken advantage.