It took me longer than I care to admit to write this article. I restarted this article about six or seven times trying to decide what I wanted to write. There was a part of me that wanted to write about the insanity that is my kitchen as I prepare my meals for this upcoming week, while another part wanted nothing more than to talk about how rugby has changed my life.
However, I kept drifting back to wanting to address the political matters that have struck the nation within the past month. I fought internally about whether or not to write about politics thinking that it might be too controversial coming out of the gates. But the more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got. I started to ask why I automatically looked to restrict my thoughts on these topics and it brought me to the question I pose now: how do simple words illicit such powerful responses?
I was raised in a home without many rules with regards to words and opinions. My brother and I knew what curse words were and we understood the power they held. My parents never taught us these words, but when we heard them at school, we felt comfortable enough to ask our parents what they meant and why they were used. As we grew up, my father always stressed that there isn’t such thing as a “bad word”, just “strong words” that have the power to harm in ways that other words do not. He taught us to understand that words only have power if you give them power.
This mentality, that you can give and take away word’s strength, helped me all throughout middle school when girls were learning how words can hurt each other. It helped me look past the nasty names that my peers started to experiment with and find words that empowered me. But this mentality is not unique to me or my father or my family.
This mentality is ubiquitous. It is something that Milo Yiannopoulos shows with his current tour, by using a derogatory term for homosexual in the title. This is also a mentality that rappers use in their music. Many times these songs use an ethnic slur for a person with black skin. By doing this, they de-stigmatize the word to an extent, but also heighten its severity. These two drastically different sources put the original question I posed on exhibition. How is that very simple words can wield so much power that it inspires people to act?
I am not one to start a fight. I tend to be more interested in understanding how someone else thinks and how they came to that thinking. But I am also human. I don’t enjoy being told that I am wrong and I, too, fall into the trap of trying to convince someone who simply does not want to be convinced. And it is those frustrations that I run into that inspired me to write this article.
How do we approach those who disagree with our opinions and how do we not fall into being hateful towards differing opinions? How do we love and accept when we truly disagree with one another? I think the way to do this is to look at the power we give words.
At the end of the day, a word is a word. No matter the tone, definition, source, or receptor, words are powerless until someone gives them power. Perhaps the way to peace and understanding is to be cognizant of the words we give power to. Perhaps time will tell.
Perhaps is a strong word.
