Why "Lockdown" Won't Work

As the pandemic, mass economic disruption, and the deaths of millions continue to plague our lives, the mental and emotional trauma of these issues must be discussed.

While once the purview of linguistics and philosophers, our understanding of the real, literal, and even physical power of language is now part of our cultural knowledge. We know that words matter. We’ve seen it in countless ways, sometimes uplifting and inspiring, but just as often damaging, even devastating.

Given this context, we must ask, “What effect does the term ‘lockdown’ have on our ability to cope and even heal in the aftermath of Covid-19?”

For years, I’ve looked on with despair as the word “lockdown” has proliferated through American public life. The epicenter of the broader lockdown phenomenon lies in collective tragedy: the horrific mass shootings that have taken place in American schools, shopping malls, and city streets, with a terrifying and disturbingly regular rhythm. More than just a word or temporary state of being, lockdown has become a facet of our culture, a part of our lives.

In response to shootings, schools across the country have responded with a slew of safety measures, the core of which are called “lockdown drills,” which simulate an active-shooter situation. Often, in order to make these drills more life-like, officials choose not to call them drills at all.

For kids like the ones I treat almost daily as a therapist, this practice results in severe, sometimes debilitating stress and even outright trauma. The trend became so radically apparent, I was compelled to write a book about it, whose title is that ominous term.

Right now, as our country, and indeed the world, stands at a crossroads, we need to ask if we’re doing everything in our power to keep our communities and families safe. The experts aren’t clear: Get a vaccine, but which one? Wear a mask? Don’t wear a mask?

But as authorities engage this discussion with the public, the word “lockdown” has become a metonym for the state of existence people fear may happen again. “What if we have to go into lockdown again?” is a fear I hear often in my work and with friends.

Lockdown communicates in no uncertain terms that the circumstance is not one of their choosing. Rather than a decision to save lives, the term speaks to a state of duress, or at the very least, passivity. Its connotations are distinctly negative, with the term originating in its current sense in the 1970s to refer to prison lockdowns during spikes of violence or disturbance.

In Washington—as with politics around the world and throughout time—the debate about policy has just as frequently centered on language. The question of abortion, for example, is not simply one about the various scenarios and procedures our society deems permissible. It’s about being pro-“choice” or pro-“life.” Questions about gender pull in these same dynamics. Whether we call someone “he,” “she,” or “they” matters profoundly, not just to how the person in question feels, but to how we understand gender itself.

During a crisis of historical dimensions, when the stakes continue to be high and everything takes on larger proportions, our collective decision to speak in the language of lockdown has had—and will continue to have—profound consequences. But the wonderful thing about language is its dynamism and flexibility. We can change it simply by deciding to do so.

The time for that change is now. With millions of Americans hurting economically—as well as psychologically and emotionally—we need to find a better way of speaking. Rather than informing Americans with a term borrowed from our prison system that suggests they are ordered to stay home and do as they’re told, we can find—or create—a term that speaks to their heroism, their sacrifice, and their courage.

The American people have never taken to being told what to do. Whether you chalk it up to issues with authority or a deep-seated love of liberty, the outcome is the same. But that’s where our opportunity lies at this moment.

So, before we utter that loaded word again, or use it in a news report, an official order, or even at our kitchen table, let’s think twice and find a better way.