Profanity, insults, and politics

World War II was approaching step by step.

On May 12, 1939, there was a critical meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). Nerves were frayed, and faces were anxious.

Ambassadors from foreign countries were also observing the parliamentary session.

French Ambassador Massigli described that day in his memoirs, which he penned in later years, as follows:

“This session was quite serious. I have never seen Turkish deputies take an extreme stance. They were composed, settled people. They did not get excited easily. Perhaps that is why, whenever I watch a session of the National Assembly, I am always reminded of the meetings of the Swiss National Council.”

To understand the courtesy and dignified politics in the political language of the Republic, it is enough to take a look at the TBMM records of those days. The communication notes of Atatürk’s closest colleagues, the way they addressed one another, and the respectful style in their debates are quite remarkable.

Much water has flowed under the bridge.

It has been exactly 74 years since the transition to multi-party life.

The profile of the respectable and dignified statesman of the Republican era has eroded over the passing years. The 'Respectable Statesman' has left its place to the “politician”.

The “culture of criticism” brought by democracy has begun to be replaced by insults, profanity, and aggression.

For years, we have lived under the grip of a style where political leaders who could not become statesmen conducted politics through mutual measured or unmeasured accusations and insults, and where tension gradually escalated.

Under the sacred roof of the Parliament, insults, profanity, and aggression continue to leave dirty marks.

I remember the days during my years as a deputy when I heard sexually explicit profanities in the General Assembly Hall of a kind I had never heard before. I could not forget for years the profanity a deputy from the ruling party directed at a CHP deputy (Kamer Genç). The fact that no sanctions were applied for this detailed, sexually explicit profanity, which also targeted Kamer Genç’s late mother, was an indicator of how normalized this filth and aggression had become.

I have witnessed many times that insults and profanity are actually an expression of helplessness and have become a different method of resorting to brute force.

The fact that sexually explicit profanities, which have turned into a tool of male-dominated displays of power, are now also voiced by female deputies is the most concrete proof of this degeneration.

There are countless examples of the Grand Assembly, which represents the will of the nation, gradually turning into an arena dominated by brute force and dirty language.

As the first female deputy to be walked upon with the intent of being beaten while speaking at the podium in the TBMM because I criticized Fethullah Gülen’s “light houses,” I experienced every kind of violence, profanity, and insult for 8 years.

I witnessed our deputies being almost throttled on the floor. I limped for a month due to the kicks I received.

The impact of general assemblies, which continue with aggression, insults, and profanity, on the escalating incidents of violence in society persistently fails to find a place on the agenda. What is interesting is that sexually explicit profanities are no longer even considered “shameful.”

Even the publication of a book titled “Famous TBMM Profanities” in 2014 reveals the loss of reputation this noble institution has suffered.

In our youth, profanity usually involved comparisons to “animal species.” With the objections of those who defend animal rights, it has almost completely disappeared and ended.

However, woman-focused sexist profanity is becoming increasingly widespread during the 22-year rule of a conservative party. Isn’t it very thought-provoking that this does not cause discomfort?

The reactions of women’s rights advocates to this trend remain quite weak. Has the time not come to take action to eliminate the mechanism of sexist profanity, which is the most common indicator of violence against women?

The fact that sexist profanity, which is increasing in dosage in casual conversations, movies, foreign series, and especially on social media, is accepted as normal and is becoming widespread without causing serious discomfort in society reveals the extent of the degeneration.

It is a bitter truth that those who consider the normalization of profanity and insults to be a sign that an understanding which disregards human dignity is becoming widespread cannot go beyond a small minority in society.

Cleaning up the language of politics is as important as being the first step toward cleaning up the language of society.

As long as a politician believes they have the right to express their resentment, ambition, and anger with a style that exceeds the level of criticism, and as long as this dirty language finds a response among the public, it is clear that we cannot become a civilized and democratic society that respects human rights and is sensitive to human dignity.

Time is running out to save our children from this disgusting siege of profanity and insults that pollutes our beautiful and clean Turkish language, destroys the dignity of women, and constantly degrades them as sexual objects.