SMOOTH OUT:

A slang term in vogue among teenagers in Southeastern Wisconsin (particularly those classified/marginalized under the social category/epithet “Burnout” or “Stoner”) during the Mid-1970s to Early-1980s.

Used as a non-authoritarian substitute for CALM DOWN and/or BE QUIET.

“Everybody SMOOTH OUT! The cops are outside!!!”

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SMOOTH OUT. That’s right

There’s been much talk in the BLAHBLAHSPHERE lately about the fact that telling someone who is angry/excited/freaking out to “calm down” has exactly the opposite effect (especially if it’s being done by someone trying to silence/marginalize/gaslight an abuse survivor, woman, POC, LGBTQ individual, or any other marginalized person or group).

And rightfully so. CALM DOWN has been used as a cudgel by autocrats and fascists for centuries as a way to suppress dissent and silence abuse survivors.

So we need a word that says:

I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGER AND YOUR DISTRUST OF AUTHORITY FIGURES AND RESPECT YOU AS AN AUTONOMOUS HUMAN BEING AND BELIEVE YOUR EXCITEMENT/GRIEVANCES/CONCERNS ARE GENUINE

BUT WE ALL NEED TO RELAX AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM AND/OR ADDRESS THIS EMERGENCY!!!

THEREFORE, whenever I think/feel/perceive an individual/group/entity is panicking, being a Drama Queen, focusing on the wrong problem, or their current input is not being helpful in some crucial way….

I will ask them to PLEASE (“please” is implicit in the expression but it always helps to include it when using this phrase)

Smooth Out.