Upworthy’s book GOOD PEOPLE is coming this year — pre-order now!

Shop
 Explore 

speech

Culture

The Oxford Dictionary just updated their definition of 'woman' to make it less sexist

Dictionary,words,webster,vintage,antique - free image from needpix.com

Dictionary,words,webster,vintage,antique - free image from needpix.com

Nobody should call a woman a "bitch" - especially the dictionary. Oxford University Press has finally updated their definition of "woman" to fit in with the 21^st century. "We have expanded the dictionary coverage of 'woman' with more examples and idiomatic phrases which depict women in a positive and active manner," OUP said in a statement, per CNN. "We have ensured that offensive synonyms or senses are clearly labelled as such and only included where we have evidence of real world usage." The Oxford Dictionary's definitions show up on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, And Lexico.

The change is the result of a 2019 Change.org petition to update the definition, because it was pretty sexist. The petition was started by London-based communications strategist Maria Beatrice Giovanardi, and received over 30,000 signatures. According to the petition, the Oxford Dictionary contained words that were "sexist" and "show women as sex objects, subordinate, and/or an irritation to men" when talking about women. Giovanardi told The Guardian she feels the campaign achieved 90% of its goals – like getting rid of phrases and definitions that "discriminate and patronize" or "connote men's ownership."

The petition caused the dictionary compliers to undertake an "extensive review" of the entries "for 'woman' and many other related terms." References to gender and words "typically associated with women" (like high-maintenance or housework) were removed. Any references to "sexual attractiveness or activity" were revised. It's like the pressure for women to look good even extended to the dictionary.

There are so many arenas in which women have yet to reach gender parity, but now the dictionary is not one of them. OUP added "equivalent" phrases, such as adding "woman of the moment" to match "man of the moment."

While women shouldn't be defined by their relationship status, OUP also added that a woman can be "a person's wife, girlfriend, or female lover," in addition to a man's. Speaking of man, they also updated their definition for "man," adding the same-gender neutral terminology as used in the updated "woman" def.

One of the major complaints with the old version was that derogatory synonyms for "woman," such as "bitch" and "bint" and "wench" weren't labeled as such. The inclusion of these synonyms without the note that there's anything wrong with them could open the door for harassment. Now, these synonyms are labeled as "derogatory" or "offensive" or "dated."

It's important to think about the words we use, because words have meaning. "The hard truth is that language does matter and does influence society," Giovanardi told Mashable. "We want sexism to be taken as something that not acceptable, [and] not okay."

Ultimately, the change is a reminder that if you stand up and say, "Hey, I don't like it when you think it's okay to call me a bitch," people will eventually listen – even the people in charge of the dictionary.

From Your Site Articles

Obama just gave the brutally honest Trump speech millions of people have been waiting for

Joe Biden/YouTube

When Trump entered the Oval Office on his first day as president, he was greeted by a note from his predecessor. In his letter, Obama congratulated Trump on "a remarkable run," offered a few bits of sage advice, wished him well, and told him that he and Michelle "stand ready to help in any ways which we can." It was a distinguished letter from a statesman, and a beautiful example of the peaceful and supportive transfer of power that has marked every election in modern history.

Since then, Obama has largely stayed above the fray and out of the spotlight, allowing President Trump a chance to do the job without interference. Even when his friend and former vice president Joe Biden announced his run for president, Obama held back on a formal endorsement, letting the political process run its course. At the Democratic National Convention, we saw a shift, as the former president finally let the public hear his frank assessment of Trump's job performance from his experienced point-of-view.

But at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia yesterday, Obama rolled up his sleeves, took off the gloves, and gave real voice to the frustrations half of America has felt for the past four years. And phew—it was gloriously cathartic.

While those who admire Obama admire him for always going high, going high doesn't mean overlooking the obvious. There comes a time and place for laying out the bare truth, no matter how ugly it is. Obama stepped back and gave Trump the time and space to do the job, but now that his term is nearing its end, the time for truth-telling has come.

President Barack Obama Speech at Drive-In Rally in Pennsylvania | Joe Biden for Presidentwww.youtube.com

The whole speech is worth watching, especially after the standard pleas to get out the vote. I recommend starting at the 3:20 mark. Here are some highlights:

"I never thought Donald Trump would embrace my vision or continue my policies but I did hope for the sake of the country that he might show some interest in taking the job seriously, but it hasn't happened. He hasn't shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself and his friends or treating the presidency like a reality show that he can use to get attention. And by the way, even then his TV ratings are down. So you know that upsets him.

But the thing is, this is not a reality show, this is reality. And the rest of us have had to live with the consequences of him proving himself incapable of taking the job seriously. At least 220,000 Americans have died. More than 100,000 small businesses have closed. Millions of jobs are gone. Our proud reputation around the world is in tatters."

On Trump's secret Chinese bank account and taxes and how Fox News would have reacted if that were him:

"We know that he continues to do business with China because he's got a secret Chinese bank account. How is that possible? How is that possible? A secret Chinese bank account. Listen, can you imagine if I had had a secret Chinese bank account when I was running for reelection. You think Fox News might have been a little concerned about that? They would've called me Beijing Berry. It is not a great idea to have a president who owes a bunch of money to people overseas. That's not a good idea.

I mean, of the taxes Donald Trump pays, he may be sending more to foreign governments than he pays in the United States. His first year in the White House he only paid $750 in federal income tax. Listen, my first job was at a Baskin Robbins when I was 15 years old. I think I'm might have paid more taxes that year working at a dispensing ice cream. How is that possible?"

On responsibility, tweeting, and making things up:

"I get that this president wants full credit for the economy he inherited and zero blame for the pandemic that he ignored. But you know what? The job doesn't work that way. Tweeting at the television doesn't fix things. Making stuff up doesn't make people's lives better. You've got to have a plan. You've got to put in the work. And along with the experience to get things done, Joe Biden has concrete plans and policies that will turn our vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into a reality."

On the pandemic response:

"We literally left this White House a pandemic playbook that would have shown them how to respond before the virus reached our shores. They probably used it to, I don't know, prop up a wobbly table somewhere. We don't know where that playbook went. Eight months into this pandemic, cases are rising again across this country. Donald Trump isn't suddenly going to protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself...

This pandemic would have been challenging for any president but this idea that somehow this White House has done anything but completely screw this up. It's just not true. I'll give you a very specific example. Korea identified it's first case at the same time that the United States did. At the same time, their per capita death toll is just 1.3% of what ours is. In Canada, it's just 39% of what ours is. Other countries are still struggling with the pandemic but they're not doing as bad as we are because they've got a government that's actually been paying attention.

And that means lives lost. And that means an economy that doesn't work. And just yesterday, when asked if he'd do anything differently, Trump said, 'Not much.' Really? Not much? Nothing you can think of that could have helped some people keep their loved ones alive? So, Joe's not going to screw up testing. He's not going to call scientists idiots. He's not going to host a super spreader event at the White House."

On Trump's economic record and Biden's economic plan:

"Donald Trump likes to claim he built this economy but America created 1.5 million more jobs in the last three years of the Obama-Biden administration than in the first three years of the Trump-Pence administration. How you figure that? And that was before he could blame the pandemic. Now, he did inherit the longest streak of job growth in American history but just like everything else he inherited, he messed it up. The economic damage he inflicted by botching the pandemic response means he will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to actually lose jobs.

Joe's got a plan to create 10 million good clean energy jobs as part of a historic $2 trillion investment to fight climate change, to secure environmental justice. And he'll pay for it by rolling back that tax cut for billionaires. And Joe sees this moment not just as a chance to get back to where we were but to finally make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody, the waitress trying to raise her kid on her own, the student trying to figure out how to pay for next semester's classes, the shift worker who's always on the edge of getting laid off, the cancer survivor who's worried about her preexisting conditions, protections being taken away."

On conspiracy theories and crazy uncles and how character matters:

"With Joe and Kamala at the helm, you're not going to have to think about the crazy things they said every day. And that's worth a lot. You're not going to have to argue about them every day. It just won't be so exhausting. You might be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner without having an argument. You'll be able to go about your lives knowing that the president is not going to retweet conspiracy theories about secret cabals running the world or that Navy Seals didn't actually kill bin Laden. Think about that. The president of the United States retweeted that. Imagine. What? What?! We're not going to have a president that goes out of his way to insult anybody who doesn't support him or threaten them with jail. That's not normal presidential behavior.

We wouldn't tolerate it from a high school principal. We wouldn't tolerate it from a coach. We wouldn't tolerate it from a co-worker. We wouldn't tolerate it in our own family, except for maybe crazy uncle somewhere. I mean, why would we expect and accept this from the President of the United States? And why are folks making excuses for that? 'Oh, well, that's just him.' No. No. There are consequences to these actions. They embolden other people to be cruel and divisive and racist, and it frays the fabric of our society, and it affects how our children see things. And it affects the ways that our families get along. It affects how the world looks at America. That behavior matters. Character matters."

On the unqualified people Trump has appointed to run government agencies:

"The Environmental Protection Agency that's supposed to protect our air and our water is right now run by an energy lobbyist that gives polluters free reign to dump unlimited poison into our air and water. The Labor Department that's supposed to protect workers and their rights, right now it's run by a corporate lobbyist who's declared war on workers, guts protections to keep essential folks safe during a pandemic, makes it easier for big corporations to shortchange them on their wages. The Interior Department, that's supposed to protect our public lands and wild spaces, our wildlife and our wilderness. And right now that's run by an oil lobbyist who's determined to sell them to the highest bidder.

You've got the Education Department that's supposed to give every kid a chance, and that's run by a billionaire who guts rules designed to protect students from getting ripped off by for profit colleges and stiffs arm students looking for loan relief in the middle of an economic collapse. I mean, the person who runs Medicaid right now is doing their best to kick people off of Medicaid instead of sign them up for Medicaid. Come on."

There's so much in here that speaks to how tens of millions of Americans have been feeling, and hearing it from no-drama Obama is refreshing. But Obama didn't just lay out the ugly truth about Trump. Much of his speech was spent explaining why Joe Biden would be—will be—the president American needs. He highlighted some of Biden's policy proposals and plans, but the heart of his endorsement is about who Joe Biden is:

"Joe's no stranger to here. He's a native son. Scrappy kid from Scranton. You know him and he knows you. But let me, let me tell you how I came to know him and how I came to love him. Twelve years ago, when I chose Joe Biden as my vice presidential running mate, I didn't know Joe all that well. We had served in the Senate together, but we weren't super close. He and I came from different places. We came from different generations.

But I came to admire Joe as a man who has learned early on to treat everybody he meets with dignity and respect, living by the words his parents taught him, no one's better than you Joe, but you're better than nobody. And that empathy, that decency, that belief that everybody counts, that's who Joe is. That's who he'll be.

And I can tell you the presidency doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are. And Joe has shown himself to be a friend of working people. For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room when I faced a big decision. He made me a better president and he's got the character and experience to make us a better country."

Obama earned the right to retire from the limelight after eight years leading the nation, and he may have hoped to retreat from the political fray after his two terms. But his voice is appreciated by many Americans, and his reason, intelligence, and compassionate leadership is needed now more than ever. Bringing that, along with some raw honesty, to the campaign trail is sure to be a boon for Joe Biden.

From Your Site Articles

On Friday, April 25th, Matthew Easton gave a commencement speech at Brigham Young University to 10,000 people that included a rather unexpected declaration: he came out as gay.

“I stand before my family, friends and graduating class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God," he said. His words were immediately met with deafening cheers from people in the audience, including his sister, who momentarily dropped the phone she was using to record his speech in her excitement.

“Four years ago, it would have been impossible for me to imagine that I would come out to my entire college,” he continued in the speech. “It is a phenomenal feeling. And it is a victory for me in and of itself.”

“I am not broken. I am loved and important to the plan of our great creator. Each of us are.”

His announcement comes at a significant moment at BYU when students are taking a stand against the university's strict and archaic "honor code" which declares homosexual intimacy and relationships forbidden.

However Easton, like the activists fighting against the honor code, made it clear that his declaration is by no means a break from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, in fact, quite the opposite. It's more about reclaiming his faith as the person he's always been rather than keeping his inner truth hidden because previous generations of Mormons are having a hard time embracing differences.

“My generation, and even more so the generation after me, we’re changing the way we talk about our identity and who we are,” Easton told the Washington Post. “It’s okay to be different, or not fit the norm. When I started at BYU, I didn’t think that. I thought that I had to be what everyone before me was. I do feel from my own experience that this is changing, or maybe I’m changing. I hope that our country, my faith, my community will follow in a similar fashion.”

But Easton's speech was much more than a personal declaration. He's paving the way for other LGBT people who might be at odds with their religion to stand up and embrace who they are.

Representation in the public spotlight matters. In fact, another gay man who's been getting a lot of media attention lately is part of what inspired Easton in the first place.

Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and presidential candidate who's been making waves in the democrat pool, has spoken numerous times about the intersection of his faith and his sexuality. He's also stood in support of younger Christians who are speaking out against the more traditional, often bigoted teachings of their church, and thus protesting having Vice President Mike Pence speak at their graduation ceremonies.

“That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand: That if you have a problem with who I am, your quarrel is not with me,” Buttigieg said earlier this month in his speech at the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

Easton was thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response his speech has garnered, not just within BYU, but around the world. He's still got a long way to go in terms of his personal journey, but coming out publicly was a big step forward.

"To have a group that I had for so long thought would hate me or ostracize me actually celebrate and accept me, it was awesome."

Watch Eaton's whole speech here:

From Your Site Articles

BYU student protests school's LGBTQ policy by revealing a rainbow flag in her graduation gown - Upworthy ›

Helen Mirren thought 'feminism' was 'too political.' Here's why she changed her mind.

Actor Helen Mirren addressed graduates of Tulane University in a May 20, 2017, commencement speech peppered with candid one-liners and an adoration for New Orleans — a city she once called home.

"Why the hell are you graduating?" she quipped, professing her love for the Big Easy. "What possible reason is there to leave here and go find jobs?"

Between jokes, however, Mirren touched on a handful of more serious-minded subjects.

In the speech, Mirren explained why she was hesitant to call herself a feminist until only recently.

— (@)

According to Mirren, she used to reject the "feminist" label. But, as she admitted behind the lectern Saturday, she'd also fundamentally misunderstood what feminism was all about.

After noting how "life improves for everyone" when women are given respect and freedoms, Mirren explained why she eventually came around to the label on a more personal level (emphasis added):

"I didn't define myself as a feminist until quite recently, but I had always lived like a feminist and believed in the obvious: that women were as capable and as energetic and as inspiring as men. But to join a movement called feminism seemed too didactic, too political.

However,I have come to understand that feminism is not an abstract idea but a necessity if we — and really by 'we,' I mean you guys — are to move us forward and not backward into ignorance and fearful jealousy."

Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP.

Learning that Mirren wasn't always a self-identifying feminist may come as a surprise to longtime fans.

Spanning five-plus decades, Mirren's extensive career in theater, TV, and film includes a handful of trailblazing roles for women, including her work in the U.K.'s "Prime Suspect" — a rare crime series that championed feminist themes in the 1990s.

Mirren in "Prime Suspect." Photo courtesy of Everett Collection/Granada Television.

More recently, stories highlighting Mirren's belief in gender equality have made waves online, too — like when she hilariously dropped the f-bomb while pointing out Hollywood's sexist casting problem, or when she refused to play nice after being asked a misogynistic question by Michael Parkinson in a resurfaced clip from 1975.

Mirren's prior hesitation to identify as a feminist reflects the unfortunately familiar disconnect between what feminism actually represents and how it's often portrayed.

Mirren starring in the stage play "Agamemnon," part one of Aeschylus' "Oresteia," in1978. Photo by Mike Lawn/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

Merriam-Webster defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes." By that standard, aren't the vast majority of us feminists? You'd think so. Yet, as one 2013 survey found, just one-fifth of Americans identify as such.

Whether through ignorance or partisanship, the word "feminist" has been mischaracterized — and badly. Feminism, in seeking to secure women the same rights men have enjoyed for centuries, has been explicitly labeled as a movement that is "anti-men." Feminists have been cast as lesbians who don't wear makeup or bras or shave their legs or underarms. And while some feminists might be lesbians who don't wear makeup or bras or shave their legs, this narrow caricature (created and perpetuated by anti-feminists, natch) has succeeded in keeping people from joining the cause even though they are feminists.

The feminist movement has, at times, had its shortfalls — like its historical exclusion of women of color and those in the LGBTQ community, for example — so it's understandable why some groups have rejected the label throughout the years. But the idea of feminism has always been one of equality and empowerment for everyone. With the success of January's Women's March and the increased commercial marketability of women's empowerment messaging (for better or worse), more people are comfortable with the feminist label — and that is welcome progress.

It's a cause Mirren believes is important enough to shout from the rooftops — or from behind lecterns.

"Now, I am a declared feminist," she told the Tulane graduates. "And I would encourage you to be the same."

Family

Joe Biden delivered a powerful speech about 'the only bipartisan thing left in America.'

'I assure you there’s still a lot of really decent people left in the Congress in both parties.'

For nearly an hour on March 12, 2017, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke to an audience of innovators at South by Southwest about a topic very close to his heart: cancer.

He was there to discuss the newly formed Biden Foundation's Cancer Initiative, something of an outgrowth of the "Cancer Moonshot" task force Biden led during his final year in office.

Former Vice President Joe Biden outlines his cancer initiative at SXSW. Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP.

On May 30, 2015, Biden's son Beau died from brain cancer. He was just 46 years old.

The former Delaware attorney general, Army veteran, and rising star was diagnosed with the disease less than two years earlier, devastating the Biden family and ultimately leading Joe to forgo a run for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president. While Beau's passing may have cooled his father's presidential ambitions, it sparked a laser-focused passion within the patriarch. His charisma, 44 years in public service, and knowledge of Washington bureaucracy made him uniquely qualified to try to help save cancer patients and their families from having to endure heartbreak.

Beau and Joe Biden during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

It seems like there's not a lot Democrats and Republicans can agree on these days. Biden used his SXSW speech to discuss what he called the "only bipartisan thing left in America."

Cancer doesn't care whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, rich or poor, black or white, young or old. It's ruthless, and it's almost certainly touched all our lives in one way or another. It's that type of tenacity that makes fighting cancer something worth setting aside political differences for — and it's been done, even very recently.

On Dec. 13, 2016, President Barack Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law. The bill, which set aside $6.3 billion in funding for things like medical research and drug development, passed the Senate by a vote of 94-5 and the House by 392-26. During his speech, Biden pointed to the bipartisan success of the bill, using it as a sign that, when pressed, we really can come together for the greater good.

"I assure you there’s still a lot of really decent people left in the Congress in both parties," Biden said, noting that Republican Mitch McConnell even moved to name $1.8 billion of the bill's funding after Beau.

Biden speaks at SXSW. Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP.

It's easy to feel cynical, but Biden offers a bit of much-needed hope for a better world.

"I am optimistic. I’m optimistic about the American people," he said. "Given half a chance, they’ve never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever let their country down. And the core of the Republicans in the Congress and Democrats are good, decent, honorable people being almost artificially separated by a new kind of partisanship. I’m confident we can break through it. I’m confident it can be done."

And if he, a man who has seen just how broken Washington can be, still has faith that our elected officials will do the right thing, that's worth something — isn't it?

Biden speaks at SXSW. Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP.

There are things we must be unwilling to postpone. The fight against cancer, a bipartisan effort, is one of them.

Biden ended his speech by invoking President John F. Kennedy:

"He talked about the effort to go to the moon as a commitment the American people had made and that they were 'unwilling to postpone.' … I am unwilling to postpone for one day longer the things we can do now to extend people’s lives — and so should you be.”

Let's be unwilling to postpone that better world.

Beau and Joe Biden hug at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

Watch Biden's full SXSW speech below:

From Your Site Articles

Astrid Silva's own future hangs in the balance.

In President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress, he doubled down on many of his hard-line promises on immigration.

In the hourlong address, the president discussed the creation of a southern border wall and boasted about his administration's revved-up approach to deporting undocumented immigrants. He unveiled plans for a new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office and brought with him as guests people who lost family members to violence committed by undocumented immigrants.

Though many have praised Trump's more presidential tone of voice, the policies laid out in his speech are the same ones he's touted since the start of his campaign. As Bloomberg's Joshua Green reported, a senior White House official described Trump's speech as "nationalism with an indoor voice."

Trump delivering his first address to a joint session of Congress. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/AFP/Getty Images.

It's Trump's harsh and demonizing stance on immigration that made Astrid Silva's Spanish-language response to Trump's address — delivered on behalf of the Democratic party — so important.

Silva was brought to the United States at age 4. A beneficiary of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order that allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. at a young age to stay as long as they meet certain criteria, Silva's own immigration status remains up in the air under Trump. She, like more than 750,000 other DACA recipients, faces an uncertain future that includes the possibility of being deported back to a country she's never known.

Silva speaking at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

On Tuesday night, Silva pushed back on Trump's rhetoric, making the case for immigrants like herself:

1. We can't let Trump divide us with incendiary language.

"The United States is not a country guided by hatred, fear and division as [Trump] makes it look like," Silva argued in a version of her speech translated to English by the The Washington Post. "Our country is guided by respect, hard work, sacrifice, opportunities and hope. In this country, there is no place for discrimination, racial prejudice or persecution."

Silva speaks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Silva called Trump's speech "divisive," saying, "its goal is to cause fear and terror in communities across the country," and she argues that those goals are at odds with American values.

2. Nor should we be spending billions of dollars building walls and funding deportation forces.

"He is spending resources to transform working families into targets for deportation," said Silva. "He wants to spend thousands of millions of dollars to build an unnecessary wall. And he is seeking ways to deny entry to our Muslim brothers and sisters."

Silva introduces Obama during a November 2014 speech on immigration. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

In February, Reuters reported that Trump's border wall will cost an estimated $21.6 billion. Trump also promised to hire 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and 5,000 Border Patrol agents. The fact remains, however, that the number of people trying to cross the U.S. border illegally is at a near-40-year low. Putting resources into ICE, Border Patrol, and an expensive wall seems unwarranted.

3. The answer to undocumented immigration — which is an issue that needs to be addressed — is comprehensive immigration reform, not mass deportations.

"Instead of separating families, President Trump should pass a sweeping reform that would honor this country’s tradition of welcoming immigrants," said Silva. "Instead of closing the door on Muslims and insulting countries around the world, President Trump should work with our allies to fight and defeat ISIS and other terrorist groups and seek peace."

Silva speaks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

4. We need to take action on climate change for the sake of the world.

"We Latinos suffer from asthma more than other groups. The condition of the environment is key for our well-being. Instead of repealing the health care law, which gave health insurance to millions of Latinos, Trump and the Republicans should improve it so that the program can cover more people and be less expensive."

Obama hugs Silva after mentioning her by name in a November 2014 speech. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

Whether you're in the U.S. or anywhere else on Earth, climate change will affect us all. That's why no matter Trump's action on immigration, it's important that he does something about climate change, something he's previously called a "hoax."

5. And finally, Silva reiterated, we need to stand up for each other, even when issues don't directly affect us.

"We are living in times of uncertainty, completely outside of the ordinary, in which the administration is constantly questioning the news media and actively tries to destroy its credibility," said Silva. "We can’t allow those actions to become normal. It demands that those of us who understand the risk for women, for the LGBT community, for our environment, for the workers, immigrants, young people and refugees, work together to protect our communities from deportations, violence and discrimination."

Silva speaks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

It's on all of us to side with undocumented immigrants to push for a path to citizenship, to support LGBTQ rights, to combat racism, to fight Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, to ensure access to health care, and to protect our social safety nets. We need to show up for one another.

Immigrants make America great. Silva is living proof of that.

"We immigrants and refugees are the soul and the promise of this country and we are not alone," she said.

You can watch her response below in Spanish or read the English translation here.

As controversy over Donald Trump's immigration executive order continues to swirl, in his first-ever joint speech to Congress, he addressed his personal guests Jamiel Shaw, Jessica Davis, and Susan Oliver — whose family members were killed by undocumented immigrants.

Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/Getty Images

"To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this one question," the president said. "What would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income, or their loved one because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?"

It's impossible not to feel for those who have lost loved ones to senseless acts of violence.

The urge to make meaning and place blame in the wake of a tragedy is powerful. But for the president to exploit these families by grouping them together and focusing on the perpetrators' immigration status sends a dishonest and destructive message: that undocumented immigrants are inherently violent, criminal, and not to be trusted.

We can litigate this until we're blue in the face, but it won't change the fact that the president's message is not just damaging — it's wrong. Studies show that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens, and, more anecdotally, that the same goes for undocumented immigrants.

Not only are immigrant families touched by violent crime just as often as the families of those who are born in the U.S. — many are specifically targeted because of their immigrant status.

Srinivas Kuchibholta. Photo by Mahesh Kumar A/AP.

If President Trump truly wanted to use his first speech to Congress to honor families whose loved ones have died senselessly and tragically, he could have also invited...

1. The family of Srinivas Kuchibholta, an engineer from India who was murdered at a bar in Olathe, Kansas, last week.

His assailant allegedly yelled, "Get out of my country" before fatally shooting him.

Srinivas Kuchibholta's wife Sunayana Dumala. Photo by Orlin Wagner/AP.

2. The family of Luis Ramirez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who was beaten to death by four high school football players in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, in 2008.

One purportedly told the 25-year-old factory and field worker to, "Tell your Mexican friends to get the fuck out of Shenandoah."

Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Photo by Rick Smith/AP.

3. The family of Won-Joon Yoon, a Korean graduate student, who was murdered by a white supremacist while pursuing a computer science degree at Indiana University.

Won-Joon Yoon's parents. Photo by Michael Conroy/AP.

4. The family and friends of Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, a Saudi student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, who died from his injuries after being attacked during a night out in October.

Students at UW-Stout hold a vigil for Hussain Saeed Alnahdi. Photo by Marisa Wojcik/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram via AP.

5. The family of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant killed by teenagers in Patchogue, New York, in 2008, as part of a game called "beaner-hopping," where the group would hunt and beat local Latino men.

Photo by Craig Ruttle/AP.

6. The family of Arlindo Goncalves, a 72-year-old, homeless, Cape Verdean immigrant, who was killed by a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, in 2009.

Anabela Fernandes, niece of Arlindo Goncalves. Photo by Tim Correira/The Enterprise.

7. The family of Joseph Ileto, a postal worker originally from the Philippines, who was killed by a white supremacist during a shooting spree at a Jewish Community Center.

Photo by Randi Lynn Beach/AP.

For President Trump to highlight the few heinous crimes committed by a vanishingly small number of undocumented immigrants while ignoring the violence committed against the broader immigrant community is shameful.

"As we speak tonight, we are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens," President Trump declared. He went on to propose a new office — Victims of Immigration Crime Enforcement — to serve victims of violent crime committed by undocumented immigrants.

But immigrants, like the rest of us, aren't, for the most part, "gang members, drug dealers, and criminals" — they're just people. And just like U.S.-born citizens, a tiny fraction of them do horrible, unforgivable things — though, it bears repeating, at a lower rate than those who were born here.

Most immigrants go shopping, play basketball, go to work, fall in love, get bored, drink whisky, watch TV, hug their kids, and generally behave the way most normal human beings behave.

Relatives of Srinivas Kuchibholta attend his funeral. Photo by Mahesh Kumar A/AP.

Immigrants who commit deadly crimes don't represent the vast majority who just want to live their lives and raise their families in peace and security, and not be hassled — or worse — for it.

It's perfectly reasonable to argue for stronger enforcement of immigration laws — in a humane, fact-based manner.

It's not OK to implicitly label all undocumented immigrants "killers" and "thugs."

If President Trump truly wants to make America great, he can start by acknowledging that whether or not we were born here or came here with the right paperwork in order, we're all human. And we all deserve to feel safe.