Semantics Saturday: Wielding the Word Crybaby

DEFINITION

Crybaby: a person who cries easily and complains

Word Wise Writing

As a writer, words are important. Picking just the right world for any sentence can sometimes be agonizing. You can feel there is a better word somewhere in the ethos but can’t reach out and grab it. It circles and mocks you with its existence. When you finally find it, it can feel so good.

Since I live in a constant word-search, I often “reach” (metaphorically since I’m just using the internet) for a dictionary or the thesaurus to help me figure out the perfect word. But, there is more to words than their literal meaning and I need to be aware of that too. Essentially, I spend a lot of time mulling over words, their meanings and their connotations (i.e. the meaning behind the meaning.)

Careful Consideration

Words in life, like words and books, can be used incorrectly or wielded to for good and for bad. People sling words around often not caring who they hurt or with the intention of causing pain. I tell my daughter that words hurt, but only if you give them the power to hurt you. We’ve discussed how to deal with hurtful language and be careful of how our own words may affect others. We talk about how people have often taken the bite out of extremely terrible words by appropriating them into their own lives, thus removing the power from those who try to use it against them. (think the N word and the B word).

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.” -Edgar Allan Poe

No One Puts Baby in the Corner

And, so now, I turn to the word “crybaby.” On behalf of all crybabies out there I have decided yes, I’m a crybaby and I actually like this term. I’m not going to shy away from it or get upset when people use it to describe me or people like me. In fact, thank you crybaby name-callers. I am a crybaby and proud (t-shirts pending).

Not sure what I am referring to? Well, this isn’t a new term. Bullies have been using it for decades.

However, recently it is a term used regularly and prolifically by certain people to negatively label those opposed to the White House policies, especially those who are vocal and concerned about what is happening in the world. Not sure what I mean – here are some examples. They’re everywhere. Feel free to google.

My Crybaby Experience

Right after the election, I posted a very personal poem about my concerns in an effort to help people understand or to know they weren’t alone. It’s how I felt. It’s how I still feel. While some people were very responsive and kind, others were not. (No surprise). In fact, some lovey person on Twitter responded and called me a crybaby. (Classy right?) He or she wasn’t alone. I’ve seen people I know (most of whom are decent people) revert to this name calling. Although to complain about complaining seems a little hypocritical, no?

To be fair, those wielding the “crybaby” term aren’t the only ones name-calling. It’s rampant and not new. The Obamas received numerous terrible racially-charged name-calling and insults that I would never repeat and the current White House throws out the term “loser” so much it’s kind of ‘losing’ it’s meaning. However, the use of “crybaby” by many in the media and even regular folks seems to be right on its heels.

(Side note: If you are going to name call at least be unique about it. Come up with something new. Reusing the term “crybaby” over and over just shows a lack of imagination and individual thought, along with massive immaturity. If you’re going to act like a jerk, at least be an interesting jerk and don’t just follow the crowd of bullies.)

I Am a Crybaby

With that said, I actually have become fond of the term. I mean it’s a John Waters movie! What’s not to love about that? (I love that movie BTW!)

And, yes I am crying. (And I really do. I cry when I see gravestones knocked over. I cry when I see swastikas popping up everywhere. I cry for the wife of the man who was shot in Kansas. I cry when I think about all the people who are now afraid for their lives because of the hatred spreading through the US.)

And, yes I’m complaining. I’m complaining about the injustice and hate that has skyrocketed in the last few months. I’m complaining about the people who ignore it or claim it’s not happening. I complain about the people who are not fighting to stop it.

I am a crybaby because I have a heart that feels for all people and doesn’t selectively care about people based on religion or the color of their skin. I am a crybaby because I don’t just sympathize, I empathize, I feel the pain of others acutely.

So, it turns out, this crybaby thing is actually not an insult at all. I am a crybaby. And I’m pretty proud of that. So, again, I say thank you dear name-callers. Keep it up. This crybaby is here to stay!

“My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel–it is, before all, to make you see.” -Joseph Conrad