I just don’t understand this obsession with “accessible language.” Can language be used to reproduce hierarchy? Sure.

But it can also be an incredible gift.

When you go to KFC, do you just tell the cashier that you want chicken? Or do you ask for extra crispy hot wings?

When you go to the doctor, do you just tell him you’re in pain? Or do you try to describe the exact movement of the pain, its location, its intensity, its duration?

When you’re building a house, do you ask for house building materials or do you ask for cement, wires, steel, tiles?

Can you understand the incredible frustration of not having the language for these moments?

Can you imagine if your doctor diagnosed your hemorrhage as a boo-boo? Or if your architect built your house with wood instead of cement because you didn’t know the word “cement”?

Language can be a gift.

If I say I want buttermilk mashed potatoes, I don’t just want any potatoes. I want buttermilk mashed potatoes.

If I say queer, I don’t mean gay. I mean queer.

If I say incommensurable, I don’t mean unequal. I mean incommensurable.