Recently I have seen the word
“junkie” thrown around a lot by people. Junkie is one of those
words loaded with connotations. It is a slur, used derogatorily by
non-addicts to label people who have addiction issues. This label is
used to categorize people on the social spectrum. Categorization of
people into different labels and groups isn't anything that will be
going away soon. The process of categorization allows us simplify and
organize our perceptions of the world around us. This is essential
for understanding our own place within our surroundings. Social
stigma is the process that links a negative attribute to a social
identity. For instance, the word “slut” is a stigma used against
women who are deemed “overly promiscuous”. “Junkie” is no
different. Stigmatized groups range across the spectrum – women,
ethnic or racial minorities, LGBT, people with disabilities,
economically disadvantages, and many others have all been faced with
varying degrees of oppression.
Drug addiction
has been a hot button issue lately. We see it appearing in the newspaper
nearly everyday and it has entered in the public discourse more and
more. Just recently we have begun to see the overall acceptance of
drug addiction as a disease rather than a moral deficiency. One that
requires a healthcare solution, not just a law-and-order one. For the
first time in history, drug addicts both in recovery and active have
been coming out of the woodwork and making their voices heard. For a
long time people who suffered from addiction hid behind the veil of
anonymity, because coming forward would mean facing social stigma and
often times incarceration. Today that is not necessarily the case.
Marty Walsh was elected Mayor of Boston despite identifying as an
alcoholic in recovery, Chris Herren (the ex-Boston Celtic player) has
come forward as an an addict in recovery, and a host of others from
Hollywood to our neighborhood.
 |
| From L to R; Chris Herren, Mayor Walsh, Philip Seymour Hoffman |
This “coming out” marks the
turning point for addiction advocacy. The same way people in the LGBT
community came out publicly about sexuality. This is a crucial way to
humanize our identities and the reclaim our status as deserving
members of the community. When people who are not addicts use the
word “junkie” to describe a human being, it sets us back to the
past where we were considered less than human, undeserving, and
outside of society. Our community needs to be mindful of the language
we use. As distinguished anthropologist Edward Sapir notes, “With
language we categorize, distinguish, and create the universe.
Ultimately, we perceive the world according to our language.” This
means that words are not empty. In fact our language constructs our
reality. When we come across people who refer to us as “junkies”,
it is because they do not value us as human beings either consciously or unconsciously. History has shown us that “our kind” are not
welcome. The best way to combat this perception is to show them who
we are. We live among you, we are your landscapers, baristas,
lawyers, babysitters, teachers, and your politicians. The next time
you have a conversation about addiction be conscious of the language
used, if we can transform how we talk about addiction we can
transform how we treat it.
Sincerely,
Nate Robertson, Your Local Junkie
PS. I better not catch you calling me that
Nate Robertson, Your Local Junkie
PS. I better not catch you calling me that
