Change of... Dictionary

The word ‘discrimination’ didn’t really exist back then, at least not in the sense of actually using it. It must certainly have been in the dictionary, the very dictionary I was forced to learn by heart as a punishment by the headmaster whenever I missed a Dutch lesson. Much to his horror, I knew the section he’d set me off by heart. As a result, after a few attempts, he gave up on making me learn the dictionary by heart. I was told to go back to my Dutch lessons, to the teacher who clearly discriminated against me, who turned up his nose in disgust whenever he saw me, and who would have been glad to see the back of me.

Discrimination, that word was bandied about left, right and centre. When it comes down to it, I’ve never been discriminated against, and when it did happen, I was perhaps already hardened enough to still call it out, unlike most people I come across today.

Three frequently used phrases to silence others are:

• You’re discriminating
• You’re a ---phobe
• You’re manipulating

None of these three remarks makes the slightest impression on me. I know full well what it’s like to be discriminated against; the fact that I don’t accept or like something doesn’t mean I have a phobia, quite the opposite, and I certainly don’t manipulate; I’m simply sharing my views. And regardless of what anyone else thinks, I do stick to my word.

When it comes down to it, everyone discriminates – animals, including dogs and horses, do it; humans do it; and right now, I feel that the endless name-calling and sniping at one another has gone too far.
Like more and more people, I’ve had enough of the constant discrimination, the aggression towards others, the prejudices, and above all, the behaviour of foreigners. By ‘foreigners’ I mean those who don’t adapt – and I don’t care whether they’re tourists (a particular thorn in my side is how a certain group of tourists behaves, so I avoid them), football hooligans who destroy everything from trains to shops, and all those ‘gold-diggers’ who leave a trail of destruction and abuse in their wake. In any case, this has led to negative feelings towards foreigners increasing in more and more countries. Is this discrimination? Is this patriotism? I’ll leave that conclusion up to you, but it is, in any case, a reaction to an action.

The dictionary I once had to learn by heart must have changed considerably by now. Not only have new words been added, but the meanings of words have also changed over the years. This isn’t always noted in the dictionary, but it is certainly the case in everyday usage. Not knowing the true meaning of a word says a great deal about the average person’s level of education, which is depressingly low, partly due to the current education system and AI.

_{25-6-2026
Prompt: dictionary}