The Violence of “Normal”

"Ordinary, average, common. How do you feel when you hear these

words? Many of you probably feel a sense of relief. However,

these seemingly peaceful words can sometimes become the sharpest blades in our society.

The moment we establish a standard for what is 'normal,' those who fall short are instantly relegated

to being 'strange, abnormal, or below average.' Confining others to a specific mold

and forcing them to fit in—this is a form of invisible linguistic violence. Consider the normal

distribution curve in statistics. Mathematically, half of us are bound to fall below the

mean. Above all, human beings are not designed to be perfect from