I’m home again and I just found a piece of paper my dad wrote with the words “Words that Wound” written on the top, underlined and in big capital letters. It was dated November 23, 2023–Thanksgiving. Underneath was a list of words I called my dad during Thanksgiving Dinner (and I think all before we had seconds). The list included,

Oppressor

Victimizer

Colonialist

Fascist

Bigot

Racist

Sexist

Homophobic

Transphobic

When we read the book “Words that Wound” by Mari J. Matsuda, Charles R. Lawrence III, Richard Delgado, and Cornellian Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in my inequalities class, I did not realize that wounding can go both ways. Finding this list after watching the vapidity of the three college presidents testifying to Congress really got me thinking what Social Justice Warrior means and who I am becoming at Cornell. Just maybe–I do not want to belong.