On Language: De-Humanizing Those Who Are Incarcerated

Many years ago I read Miller and Swift’s Words and Women (1976).  The book demonstrated how language has been used to separate women from men in ways that assign women to lesser status.  The authors brought to my consciousness the power routine language has in creating bias in how we view other human beings.  

Recently Reality Check published a piece by Victoria Law and Rachel Roth: Names Do Hurt: The Case Against Using Derogatory Language To Describe People in Prison.  Law and Roth remind us on the power of language to de-humanize one segment of our population.  

The authors write,  “The term ‘inmate’ is the most pervasive of these words; it is widely used by judges, prison and jail officials and staff, and the media. Far from being neutral, this word objectifies and disparages people who are imprisoned.”

Desensitization is a tool for those who administer cruelty.  In its extreme, administering the death penalty is difficult to manage if the man or woman killed is appreciated for their humanity.  Less dramatic, but equally chilling, referring to those who are incarcerated as “inmates” disguises the mission of prisons.  Traditionally we understand incarceration to serve two purposes, the first being punishment and the second rehabilitation.  Most would agree that rehabilitation is at best a limited goal of most states.  De-humanizing those in prison assists those who advocate punishment only and view rehabilitation efforts as luxuries to which those who are in prison are not entitled.  

Once we de-humanize the population we have no reason to consider what could be done to respect the humanity of men and women in prison.  Our use of culturally accepted prison language, whether unintentional or not, ties us to the conspiracy of those whose goals are punishment, no matter how cruel or counterproductive.