I disagree. Verbal "harm can be far more reaching and difficult to overcome than bruises or cuts or broken bones." If a person is fragile & insecure and easily triggered by words, then they are likely in need of cognitive behavioral therapy. People are responsible for their own emotions & reactions. Accusing others for making thems…
I disagree. Verbal "harm can be far more reaching and difficult to overcome than bruises or cuts or broken bones." If a person is fragile & insecure and easily triggered by words, then they are likely in need of cognitive behavioral therapy. People are responsible for their own emotions & reactions. Accusing others for making themselves feel bad as akin to violence is a major distortion of the meaning of violence in my opinion. A person that PHYSICALLY attacks someone because they were VERBALLY insulted is the one committing violence not the person that made the insulting remark. It would be nice if everyone was civil & respectful of others feelings, but labeling their speech as violent just because people's feelings were hurt or contradicts their own beliefs is hyperbolic pearl clutching.
I have seen real harm done with words. This is particularly true with adolescents. There is an amazing number of insecure and easily triggered people in the world, particularly younger people. This has become even more prevalent in our "socially engaged" social media world, where all you actually have are words.
Words are far more dangerous than you seem to think. Their effects more far-reaching than you think. I have studied language and its use and misuse for several decades and people always underestimate the power of words or somehow think that their use and effect is less severe or powerful than something like hitting somebody in the face.
I disagree. Verbal "harm can be far more reaching and difficult to overcome than bruises or cuts or broken bones." If a person is fragile & insecure and easily triggered by words, then they are likely in need of cognitive behavioral therapy. People are responsible for their own emotions & reactions. Accusing others for making themselves feel bad as akin to violence is a major distortion of the meaning of violence in my opinion. A person that PHYSICALLY attacks someone because they were VERBALLY insulted is the one committing violence not the person that made the insulting remark. It would be nice if everyone was civil & respectful of others feelings, but labeling their speech as violent just because people's feelings were hurt or contradicts their own beliefs is hyperbolic pearl clutching.
I have seen real harm done with words. This is particularly true with adolescents. There is an amazing number of insecure and easily triggered people in the world, particularly younger people. This has become even more prevalent in our "socially engaged" social media world, where all you actually have are words.
Words are far more dangerous than you seem to think. Their effects more far-reaching than you think. I have studied language and its use and misuse for several decades and people always underestimate the power of words or somehow think that their use and effect is less severe or powerful than something like hitting somebody in the face.
There's a reason totalitarian governments jail the intellectuals.