The first thing in the reading that caught my attention was the story about Mel Gibson in the beginning of the Chapter. Really Mel? It is amazing the things people say sometimes. More recently Hulk Hogan has found himself in similar troubles, due to some racist comments he said while being recorded. This is something that I have seen many times in life. People get emotional (often times alcohol is a factor), and just say what’s on their mind, oftentimes forgetting the level of offensiveness of what they are saying. Donald Trump has a problem of doing this also. The first thing that popped into my mind when reading this was the concept of mindfulness, which we learned in a previous chapter. This is a mistake that all people make from time to time. The important thing is to recognize when you’r language could offend somebody.

            Page 86 of the book talks about connotative and denotative meaning. I found this to be very insightful information. I have never heard the term “connotative meaning” or “denotative meaning” before. Take the word “gun” for example. The denotation of “gun” is simply the dictionary definition. The connotation of “gun” on the other hand means so much more. For example when some people hear the word “gun” they automatically think of violence, death, and crime. On the opposite side of the coin, some people hear the word “gun” and think of protection, security, and safety. Others yet may think of hunting or other sportsman related activity. The point is that we all think of different things when hearing the same exact word, regardless of the dictionary meaning. I enjoyed learning the new vocabulary, and have been using the terms since i did the reading.

            Last but not least I enjoyed the sections relating to bias language. First I would like to discuss the section about language and gender(pg.90) As someone who struggles with our country's’ lack of inequality, I find using gender neutral terms very important. In my opinion, the sex of an employee is completely irrelevant in relation to the job that they are doing. I feel that gender related terms such as “stewardess” or “male nurse” are insulting, and assume that only women should be flight attendants and that it is in some way wrong for a male to be a nurse. I really don't feel that a person's genitals should be a deciding factor in the profession that they choose. That being said, I always strive to use gender neutral terms. It also really bothers me when people use exclusionary language. The one I encounter the most is references to race. For example, I have heard people say things like “ have you met Jim? He’s a nice guy. He’s black, not that that matters or anything”. I always feel like asking them: “if it doesn’t matter, why did you even say it?”. I also hear similar comments made about sexual orientation, which again has absolutely nothing to do with a person's job or abilities. I feel that using exclusionary terms separates people into “us” and them”. I also feel that by using terms such as “gay Rob”, or “black Paul” create a master status as being black or gay before an employee, or in some regards a person. People say things like “what's the big deal? He is gay, or he is black”. I think they should consider how they would feel if they were called “ straight Maggie” or “white ronnie”. Ending the use of bias language is the first step to breaking the glass ceiling, and social inequality as a whole.