Synthesis Essay On Name Calling

In 16 years, I have heard people call others names plenty of times, and I’ve often found myself at both the delivering and receiving end of name calling. When I was 3, I called a girl a "bucket head" and threw a hula hoop at her. At age 7, upon moving to America, I someone called me an "alien." The other day I called my friend a “dumbass.” While I’ve experienced many different versions of name calling, only recently have I sat down to ponder the effects of using these phrases and what they mean about us all as individuals. As I started my exploration into the uses of name calling, I wondered what mindset and values allow us to use name calling. To answer this question, however, I must first understand the context and circumstances that illicit name calling. There are two main ways I have used, and observed others use, name calling throughout my life: the expression of positive and negative perception of others. For example, if I perceive someone positively, I may call them "genius", "honey", or any other positive descriptor. Within this context, I believe that this reveals a cultural value of appreciation and expression. The negative aspect is more complicated. The other day, I was irritated at my friend, and being the disgruntled …show more content…
Humans are born into this world without any self-perceived labels. However, from that moment on the world will be throwing labels, adjectives, and names at them. When called a boy, the child’s perceived reality is that he is a boy. When the child given a name, for example Fred, his reality is that he is Fred. The child may call someone friend and now he sees them as a friend. These series of events continue to happen and name calling essentially alters the realities of those involved. Name calling causes people to change internally based on what happens externally and this internal change dictates how individuals see the world around them and how they construct their