Woah! I hadn't considered this idea before, but it really makes a lot of sense! I know that I even get choked up sometimes in group interactions: addressing someone by their first name feels so personally, and can really be nerve wracking. You add on this 'confrontation culture", and it really makes a lot of sense why people have chosen to refer to others in these second-person-pov kind of ways.

At some point, we really need to ask ourselves if the slang children are using is actually "that deep". Should it really be a concern whether or not a kid uses the word "sigma", as compared to the actually harmful things happening in the world? All I have to say is: let the kids cook!

I can't tell you how many times I've personally used the word "cook" in this context --- all thanks to my little sister, whose speech is riddled with Gen Alpha slang use. I think understanding how slang like this influences our cultural identities is super important, and especially relevant as we all navigate today's online discourse in conjunction with this linguistics course.

In other classes, I've discussed the harmful rise of the 'manosphere' on social media platforms, with influencers like Andrew Tate being prime examples of these hyper-masculine, incel type men. There is interesting evidence connecting the mental space of men and the rise of these influencers, and it's also seemed to affected areas like the presidential voting polls (with influencers like Joe Rogan endorsing certain candidates). No matter where you stand politically, it is easy to see the sort of harm incel-like ideas can have on men particularly, and I think this article does a good job at highlighting why these slang terms are so widely used.

The ways in which groups of people create slang and their own vernacular is really interesting. I never considered looking into the history of some of the slang I used day-to-day. As someone with a sibling belonging to Gen Alpha (a generation known now for it's insane slang), I am surprised to note the connection between the slang they use and the slang incels. It feels harmful to have such slang be spread around as it has been, especially know that I've gained the knowledge from this article.

Because I'm in a more political space of the internet, I have heard the phrase "red pilled" or "blue pilled" every once in awhile on social media. I've never heard the phrase in any other context, which is why I found it intriguing used in "burritopilled". I am also shocked to note that this phrase actually leads back to rhetoric made my incels.

Before reading this, I had never considered the black perspective on living in Appalachia, which I think is very telling of the stereotypes I've associated with Appalachians without even realizing it. The term coined here, "Affrilachia", speaks to the idea that having a self-created labeled identity within a community is essential to fighting against harmful stereotypes.

This quote reminds me of narrative four exchanges I've done in precious courses. For those who may not know, narrative four is a program our university is apart of that helps to foster empathy in lieu of what is called a "single story". When stories are told about certain groups of people, it often becomes, as Adichie notes, the "only story". This is inherently harmful to the formation of identity for people of color.

The vastness of this region is really intriguing to me. To think that such a large portion of the world has been summed up in small, meager stereotypes feels really gross. It is even more troubling considering that such a grand chunk of the country has been impoverished and "largely ignored".

I think this passage really helped me to understand what it means to support dialectical diversity. It should never be "you must speak this way because this is standard", especially in grade schools. But, teaching them the formalities of language to support their writing and presentation skills doesn't take away from their dialect, which is really important.

I can't tell you how many teachers and adults have drilled the absolute 'like' out of me. Now, when I hear someone use the term excessively, I often find myself internally cringing.

Perhaps it sounds a bit silly, but I had really never before considered the 'hillbilly' stereotype before reading these articles on Appalachian dialect. These stereotypes are seemingly so ingrained in our culture that I hadn't even saw them for the harm they could cause -- it almost felt just like an character archetype. However, in reading these articles, I can really see the negative impact that discrimination against one;s dialect or language can harm groups of people,