Sticks and Stones

I wonder what it means 

The word I hear all the time on TV

Used with hatred and contempt for the vilest of the vile

It must mean something bad

It was the word emblazoned across newspapers

to describe the perpetrators of the bombing that caused

death and destruction and blew horse's legs off

It must mean something bad

I know I'll look it up   I wonder if it's in

B...A...S...T.......

This can't be   It means me

But I've done nothing wrong

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children should not be discriminated against on the  basis of the status of their parents. But there is a word which does just this. It's time everyone knew about the abuse that I and countless others - including almost half this country's children - are forced to endure in a society which deems it acceptable to use as a term of abuse the word which in the dictionary describes us. 

Due to its promotion on television, bastard has become one of the most frequently used swearwords. Adult victims have likened hearing it to a slap in the face. It's one thing to hear the word on the street but quite another to have the abuse endorsed and promoted by a media which appears to be bending over backwards to avoid every other kind of discrimination.

This makes a mockery of the anti-bullying campaigns which have been in vogue for some time. Which is worse - being bullied by another child or being bullied by society? Victims of bullying are told to tell someone and not to suffer in silence. But if we are ashamed to admit we are being bullied by another child, how much more ashamed are we to admit we are being bullied by everyone - society in general.

Although many believe that the stigma of being born outside marriage has all but gone, as far as the word bastard is concerned this must be the very worst time to be a non-marital child - or adult. Many years ago, before it became a swearword, it probably wasn't offensive. In the future when the original meaning - hopefully through lack of use - is omitted from the dictionary, the abuse will cease to exist. But at the present time, because the word is in a state of transition, it is used (when it suits) to describe innocent children and those responsible for the most heinous crimes. I find it equally offensive when used in either context - whether it's Cathering Tate saying filthy dirty bastards or hearing it used to describe an innocent child - surely a society which has chosen to use it as a term of abuse has forfeited the right to use it in its original context.

There was another word which appeared in the dictionary until a few years ago: Dastard, meaning: brutal coward. I believe as the words bastard and dastard are so similar, they became confused until eventually they became one. This would explain why the word bastard gained a slang use and why the word dastard became obsolete. It would certainly make more sense to call the perpetrators of atrocities 'brutal cowards' than it does to say they were born outside marriage.

I believe that when the world is aware of the abuse, the word bastard will become as unacceptable as racially abusive words are now. After all, we are no more responsible for the circumstances of our birth than we are for the colour of our skin. Imagine the uproar if any other word which describes those who are what they are through no fault of their own was used as a term of abuse. 

I have been fighting this abuse for a number of years. I have had limited success with changes to the dictionary - (I have letters from dictionary publishers thanking me for drawing their attention to the problem). When I started campaigning the original definition of the word bastard was simply: child whose parents aren't married to each other. Now they have inserted a usage note: offensive or archaic. I know this appears to be very little - but at least it is not now saying this is what we are - but rather this is an offensive word to describe us. Even so, the sooner this word is off our screens the better. 

I also wrote to the children's charities and received letters of support for my campaign but because the subject was taboo it was made impossible for me to reach like-minded people, but thanks to the internet I now can. So if you share my views  PLEASE  click on feedback at top of page.

Sooner or later young people discover the meaning of the word - from other children, the dictionary or, today, if we google the word bastard, at the top of the list of websites is this: Wikipedia 'The literal meaning of the word bastard is the circumstance of being born of parents who are nnot married to one another. (See illegitimate)'.

Lets not forget how offensive it is to be labelled illegitimate - the legal term is now non-marital, but you would never know this because the word illegitimate is used all the time in the media. I have discovered that a 1941 MGM film Blossoms in the Dust, staring GreerGarson, told the true story of Edna Gladney who, in the 1930s, successfully lobbied the Texas legislature to remove the word illegitimate from birth certificates to stop children being stigmatised. It is hard to believe that a word which was considered discriminatory over 70 years ogo is still being used today to describe those born outside marriage.

In the sit com My Family shown at 7pm on the 13th April '08 the word bastard was used in its original context to get a cheap laugh - thus abusing great numbers of children at a time when they would be watching, not to mention the adults. I made a complaint to the BBC as I hope many others did, but I know from experience that they will have trouble understanding it. They say the word bastard is low on their list of offensive words - they are asking the wrong people. This is not about swear-words it's about discrimination. If anyone has trouble understanding my complaint, all they have to do - when they hear the word bastard -  is transpose it with a racially abusive word.