I am sick of biting my tongue each and every day, withholding myself from unleashing the wrath of my astonishment at how casually students around our campus continuously use inappropriate terms when referencing others who differ from them, whether it be because of gender, race or sexual orientation.

I can almost guarantee you there is not a week that passes on this campus in which I do not hear some sort of racial or sexist slur blurted out with no shame, as if these words are equivalent in our vocabulary to “whatever” or “disgusting.” These terms float around everyday conversations casually, as if the meaning behind them doesn’t reek of ignorance and prejudice. When I hear these terms, I am sick to my stomach.

And as much as listening to these words being chirped out left and right eats at me, what gets to me the most is that I know I am only one of many who finds themselves pleading the 5th and sitting back, rather than taking a stand against something they completely disagree with.

It’s easy for me to sit here sternly and write about how wrong I think it is when people use their power of speech to harm others. I don’t doubt that many of you will call me a hypocrite, seeing me doing the same thing. Behind my keyboard, my thoughts and opinions are free from immediate criticism from my friends and peers who may think differently. Friends who would probably rather me sweep my opinions under the mat because “that’s just the way things are.”

And yet, I am admitting myself a coward when it comes to actually stepping up to the plate. Most times, when I’m in a social setting, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I live in a southern state where the majority’s opinions and social norms differ from those in which I believe. It is in these situations that I feel like I must choose my battles, especially those that could affect the friendships I share with people.

Sometimes, though, I think it might not be worth the fight. Yet the same questions arises: How will my acts of silence to avoid immediate conflict affect the probability of only prolonging greater, more important future conflicts from being solved?

I can’t possibly be the only one who sits in silence. For those of us who do, if we continue to brush things off, are we subconsciously instilling the ideology that using these terms is acceptable? Because many in our society haven’t stood up to say otherwise, can we ever ensure that things will change?

In 1947, a German political scientist named Elizabeth Noelle Newmann released a model called “The Spiral of Silence.” This theory was rooted from Newmann’s curiosity of why the Germans supported the wrong political positions during the 1930s-1940s. Her theory was used to understand the time period when Adolf Hitler dominated the whole society, and the minority Jews became silent due to the fear of isolation or separation.

According to Newmann, this common reaction comes from “fear of isolation,” and “fear of rejection.” Her studies found that individuals, whose opinions related more to those of the minority, remained silent due to fear of being ostracized from their social groups. The spiral effect begins because people who are seen as representing majority opinion speak out confidently, and the opposing individuals, since they perceive themselves to be in the minority, are afraid to voice their opinions.

We live in a country where the ability to speak freely is a constitutional right. This is a great argument for those of you who choose to use racial slurs the majority of our country outside of the south finds highly offensive. But the power of speech is much greater than many of us often realize in our day-to-day lives. As the Silent Spiral model shows, it has the ability to sway a community or group of people and in turn sway the way the individuals within these groups function and communicate with one another.

I am not trying to compare the use of slurs as being equivalent to the mass slaughters conducted by the Nazis. However, just because the public agrees that something is acceptable or seems justifiable because “that’s just how things are” doesn’t necessarily mean it is right.

I understand that currently, in the southern state of Alabama, certain racial or sexist slurs are “no big deal” because socially, they are accepted by the confident majority. These slurs are indicative of issues far greater than just cruel terms in our vocabulary. Generations before us have spoken out and fought against the discrimination these terms represent. By using these terms and creating the allusion that they are okay, we are completely defying and contradicting our country’s foundation.

Yet still, we choose to let these slurs populate our everyday communication and stand by silently, unintentionally condoning their use.

Now more than ever, I believe we must utilize our voices in order to break free from this downward spiral and move forward towards change. I encourage the students around our campus to speak out against these racial slurs. It was only 50 years ago that many minorities lacked the basic rights to which we are entitled today. Although these words may seem harmless to some and fighting against them may seem pointless to others, ridding our society of these hateful terms helps us take a step forward. Our modern day world would not be what it is had they let their fear of isolation and individuality hold them back, standing by, letting their opinions sit mutely.