Sticks and Stones....

 We all know the old expression. Say it with me. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me." We have all said it, but do we really believe it? As children, we are taught this mantra as a way of getting over being called names or insults. So as we grow older, why do we suddenly forget this lesson and become hyper sensitive to certain words and not others? I have two different approaches to this topic.
The first is about replacement words. Like why is it okay to say "intercourse", "hump" and "sex", but not okay for "fuck"? Better yet, why is it okay to imply a so-called bad word, like "shoot" instead of "shit", or "dang" for "damn"? I know what you are all saying. Its because some words have stronger implications to them then others, or, because society has agreed that these words are bad. I think we forget that words themselves have no power. It is the person whose ears those words fall upon that give the words power. By shunning and restricting words, we give them that much more power. If we look back at some words from our past we can see the ridiculousness of giving some words the power we do. Poppycock! Poppycock literally translated means "soft dung" from Dutch, but the use of this as an expletive is strictly American from the mid 1800's. Polite people used balderdash instead.  How about "Bull!"? Also from the 1800's, Bull was a taboo word due to its association with sexual potency, polite people would use words or phrases like "gentlemen cow" or "seed ox". As the years marched on, people lost interest in these words, and thus they lost their power. Pretty funny to look at how uptight society was then, right?
The second approach is about slurs. Those words that are meant to purposely cast a negative light upon a specific person or group. These words not only are given power, but bite. These words get the same source of power, but what gives them their bite is intolerance. When we begin to think we are better then someone, what better way to demonstrate that then by taking that thing that makes them different and using it against them. Right? Well that is how slurs get their start, but it is not right. But we can still take the power away from these words. Turn the negative meant by them, own the meaning, and make it positive. For example, I'm gay. (I know, shocker, right?) I have been called every expletive imaginable for gay, like "Cock sucker", I simply say, "Yes I am, and damned good at it, your point was?" or "Fag", I say, "No thanks, I just finished my cigarette, but thanks for asking." And one more, "Pussy", I say, "Oh no, I don't touch the stuff, I like dick." The point is, don't give these words their power and you take away their bite. Anyway, I could go on forever on this, and this is a blog, not a book, so feel free to send me your thoughts, comments and questions on the subject.

Burly Bear Chris