Really?
No one ever called you fat? Ugly? Skinny? Short? mean?
Unlikely!
After those words (or worse ones!) were thrown at you, you puffed up your chest, held your head high, flexed your massive muscles, let out an evil laugh as you towered over your offender... Sure. Because words will never hurt you huh?
I bet you felt 2 inches tall and a little bit of your dignity and self worth tore away.
So much for words not hurting - I rather have a stick thrown at me. At least the pain stops after a few minutes! I can still remeber the hurtful words that were said about me or to me as a kid in the playground when I was 4. I admit - they still have sting to them. I bet you remember your childhood (or adulthood) bully and they things they said and did to you. The words said in jest to you by parents and siblings that had hints of sarcastic truth and dissapointment to them. But words dont hurt, right?
What makes it ok for people to put down others and speak hateful, spiteful and disrespectful words to each other or even about another person. Simply because an 'old saying' says words don't hurt? When you dont agree with someone elses political views, family planning, religious beliefs, orientation, enconomic and social status, is it ok tho bash them with mean words and names? Is it ok to make fun of and publicly humiliate someone you dont know or even who you do, because of a difference? If they "started it" and said things first does that make it ok?
Do words hurt more when they are written? right there for all to read? Stuck in cyber space for all cyber eternity? Ouch. Just because someone cant see what you are writing about them makes it ok to put them down? Thanks to social networking, shameless bullying and "faceless" fighting and slandering is far too easy.
Its far too easy to puff yourself up, ride your high horse into battle and slaughter other people with words. After you grab your popcorn of course! You shine up the keyboard ready for a fight to the cyber death, ready to stand your ground, prove your right and THEY are wrong, ready to take on an army of cyber supporters and beat them off with your spacebar one profile at a time. When the battle is won! VICTORY! You log out and go back to the real world, where's the victory now? Where are you legions of supporters? they are doing the exact same - laundry, cooking, cleaning, looking after their chilren...why? Because thats whats important. What did the "victory" get you? It didnt get you laundry done, it didnt make the meal, it didnt raise your kids...it wasted precious time that could have been used IN THE REAL WORLD caring about the REAL PEOPLE in your life. But lets not forget, in cyber space you're a hero! Your belittling, slandering, hateful, prideful attitude and words won you popularity. YOU WON! Jump up and down feel great!
What is the "Loser" doing now? Exactly the same... Laundry, cooking, cleaning and raising their family... the difference? They have no self worth left, no feeling of joy, no pride in themselves. They are folding Laundry questioning everything they have every felt worthy of or good about. Perhaps your words were not the first sword in their side. Maybe some one else had a turn too...perhaps your words were enough to tip them, To completly defeat them, not just in cyber space, in the real world.
Sticks and stone may break my bones, but your words FOREVER hurt me.
