Sticks and stones

Sticks and stones

What is the worst thing
anyone has ever called you?
How did that make you feel?

What is the Dutch translation of
"Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words will never hurt me"?

1. Je moet een gegeven paard niet in de bek kijken.
2. Spreken is zilver, zwijgen is goud.
3. Schelden doet geen pijn.
4. Boontje komt om zijn loontje.

Why?

So why this LessonUp?

Lately I keep hearing things in school that are quite frankly appaling. I also find swastikas on stundents work and on desks. So let's talk about it and find out what's happening.

Rats that need to be removed 

from Germany.

The text: Rats. Kill them.

When do you think these cartoons of people
depicted* as rats were published**?

*depicted - afgebeeld **published - gepubliceerd

Why do you think the Nazis
drew* cartoons that depict Jews as rats?

* drew - tekenden

Dehumanisation

A lot of people in Germany and Austria had friends or colleagues who were Jewish. To prevent those people from opposing to the Nazis' treatment of Jews, they dehumanised them. They were made to look like vermin (ongedierte). Less than human beings.
Most people object to killing humans, but almost no one cares if you kill a rat or a cockroach.

Cartoon in the Daily Mail (English newspaper) 2015

Facebook post

What is antisemitism?

1. hostility against muslims
2. hostility against Jewish people
3. hostility against arabs
4. hostility against Germans

Imagine if someone used a word to remind you
every day that you were less than human, less worthy.
That you are an animal. A disease. Or vermin.
How would that make you feel?

The N-word

It comes from the latin word for the colour black - 'niger', but its use became derogatory* during the transatlantic slave trade.

Used by slaveholders to dehumanise and degrade black people.

Over time, it became a symbol of racism and oppression.

*denigrerend

A public lynching

The Ku Klux Klan

The N-word

During the first half of the previous century and to this day black people have been stereotyped as lazy, dumb, aggressive and often as criminals and not trustworthy.
Mixed race relationships were forbidden in some parts of the United States and could get you arrested and put in jail. A black man could be lynched for even looking in the direction of a white woman.
A popular form of entertainment were minstrel shows where white people dress up and 'act' like black people.

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Do the minstrel shows remind you of something you may have seen here in the Netherlands?

Andrew Tate 

(with a big bag of cash)

Misogynist message 

on social media

Examples of misogyny

A woman can do less than a man. A woman's place is in the kitchen. Women should not have a job or at least earn less than a man for the same job. Women should not be allowed to vote. Women should obey their husband. Women cannot think for themselves and so a man needs to make all the decisions. 

Do you think men and women should be treated equally? Why or why not?

Grooming

Another form of dehumanising is the so called grooming conspiracy that is popular in anti-LGBTQ+ circles.
They claim that people from the LGBTQ+ community and those who support LGBTQ+ rights are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse. This conspiracy theory has been around for many years, whithout any evidence whatsoever that all people from the LGBTQ+ community are also child molesters.

Homophobic message 

on social media

Homophobic and transphobic comments

The role of social media

The longer you are on TikTok, Insta, SnapChat, YouTube, the more money they earn. 

The longer you are on TikTok, Insta, SnapChat,YouTube the more they learn about what interests you and how they can keep you on there for as long as possible.
To make sure you don't get bored they will suggest more and more extreme videos to keep you glued to the screen.

Check your sources

Social media is a confusing place where it is sometimes really hard to see what's real, what's fake and what's a straight up lie. And with new AI technology it doesn't get any easier. So make sure you are critical of who gives you the information and ask yourself a few questions:
- Who is behind this? A real person, a company or a political organisation.
- Why are they trying to influence you? Change your mind? A call to action?

If it's too good to be true or if it's far fetched, it's probably best avoided.

Reflect

So let's wrap this up and get back to where we started.
Sometimes it helps to take a second and think how what you say or do might affect someone. 
No one chose to be born Jewish. Or black. Or woman. Or gay.
It happened to them and there is nothing they could have done to prevent it. So why should you let someone else make them feel bad about who they are?