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Terrorist Slang

"Calling your friends terrorists may sound bad, but maybe in a strange way it's helping us."

Listen to this Commentary!

By Reyna Gillead

Anxiety about terrorism can come in unexpected ways. Youth Radio's Reyna Gillead has noticed a new trend among her high school classmates. She wrote this essay about it.

Lately I've noticed a lot of young people using the word terrorist as a form of slang.

At my school one girl talking to her friend screamed out, "You better show up for the party, you terrorist." I was shocked. I'd never heard the word terrorist used that way. My friends never used to even talk about terrorism.

But when a teenager calls someone a terrorist - or even "Osama" - it's usually a joking title for a friend, not an enemy. In a way, my friends are taking the seriousness out of the word by making it a part of everyday slang. Teenagers are always looking for new put-downs. We use words like "busta," "chicken head" and "bootsy" to criticize each other. It's fun to invent new words, and it's even better when we know the words shock adults. It's not like we'd dare use the word "terrorist" in front of our teachers or parents.

So when you do say it, you get the same rush of adrenaline as when you make fun of your teacher behind her back or write graffiti in the bathroom.

Calling your friends terrorists may sound bad, but maybe in a strange way it's helping us. Just like adults, teenagers just want everything to go back to normal.

We haven't been able to joke around much this school year, and for a lot of teenagers, if nothing else, it just feels good to be obnoxious again.