Today's speakable n-word is "nobody." If you're a parent, you can avoid using it in front of your kids. Parents who listen to their children and who don't belittle them or anyone else are preparing their offspring to inhabit a dignitarian world.
Adopt a "No Nobodies" Policy in the Schools
Students may want to see if their friends are interested in adopting a schoolwide policy of "No Nobodies." They could make a list of all the forms that "nobodying" takes and see if others will agree to toss them out. Equally important, however, is having a plan for dealing with slipups. Old habits die hard, and how you go about correcting relapses can be trickier than the pronouncement of noble resolutions. Remember, you can't cure rankism with rankism.When somebody nobodies someone else, it won't improve things to shame the perpetrator. To make the transition from a rankist environment to a dignitarian one, you have to protect the dignity of perpetrator and victim alike as new habits are established. So the real meat and potatoes of a "No Nobodies" policy is not the policy itself, but rather securing agreement on what's to be done when violations of it occur,which they most certainly will. For starters, the person who is nobodied can gently describe to the perpetrator how it feels. Doing this periodically in a public forum (in the manner of instructor Stephanie Heuer's "I feel like a nobody when....." exercise described in chapter 5) is a remedy that often suffices to change what is deemed acceptable behavior by the group.
Be a Susan B. Anthony of the Dignity Movement
In the nineteenth century, Susan B.Anthony traveled a million miles by train and gave twenty thousand speeches advocating the enfranchisement of women. Sadly, she did not live to see the success of the suffragette movement she spearheaded--but her image is on the dollar coin! If you're an organizer, create a chapter of the dignitarian movement in your area. Coordinate with other chapters and make them a national force under a slogan like "No Rankism" or "Dignity for All." Programs to help the poor or end poverty will continue to fall short until those trapped in the underclass have found their voice and together insist on respect and equity. Do what Susan B.Anthony did for women and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. did for African Americans: help the victims of chronic indignity find an effective way to give voice to their plight and change the status quo.
Bring Dignity to Law Enforcement and Conflict
If you're a police officer, protect citizens' dignity as you already protect their lives. If you're a soldier, protect the dignity of your foes, if only because by so doing you're reducing the chance of them seeking revenge.
Show the World Dignity Through Your Profession
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