We/Us Pronouns
Get in the habit of writing and speaking using we and us pronouns.
Partnership relationships are something that need constant maintenance, especially when we’re so used to living in a hierarchical power structure. One way to maintain equality is with the language we use.
It matters what words we choose to use, and words like I, you, and them convey otherness when we need to learn to work together.
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As we realize that the process of building a better world has to be a cooperative effort, it became clear that it’s not about you or me, it’s about us. Using we and us as pronouns in our communications makes it clear that we are members of humanity talking with other members of humanity.
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We and us has the added benefit of being gender neutral.
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We’re completely supportive of gender-neutral language using they/them, but in the context of this work where there’s a strong emphasis on cooperation and collaboration, we’re hesitant to use they/them because it evokes the old “us versus them” frame, or they/them as other. Our use of “us” is in the most inclusive sense, meaning all humanity. From that perspective, “them” is meaningless.
Therefore:
Get in the habit of writing and speaking using we and us pronouns. You may find that it challenges some of the ideas you have around relationships of all kinds.
Us/we pronouns can be bonding, especially in the context of local groups getting together to implement a solution. For that reason, they are perhaps even more important in the context of Local Campaigns