Stupid.
Bitch.
Cunt.
Gay.
Loser.
Shady.
Words are a funny thing in our culture, the words in that beginning list are all words that have multiple meanings; they need context and inflection in order for us to derive what the speaker intends by them. And it's the intention behind the words we speak that has had my brain working over time lately. All of those words have been used to describe me at some point or another in the last six months. Each of the circumstances were different, but the intentions were all the same, the speaker was intending to hurt me with words.
We all know the saying 'sticks and stones..." and, for the most part, that is true. Words cannot hurt anyone, unless we give them that sort of power. We, as humans, are the ones who attach meaning to words, so don't attach meaning and everything is fine... or is it? After this most recent barrage of words, I thought to myself, huh- I do not believe that I am a stupid bitch, or a dumb cunt, but I also have a hard time wrapping my mind around why people would go to such an extent in an attempt to hurt someone with words.
I will be the first to say, I do not like everyone, in fact there are some people I don't like and probably never will. But I cannot recall a situation where I thought it necessary to use words like grenades. NOT that I am a saint, because I am not, and NOT that I feel like a wounded victim, because I am not that either... I just wonder what it is about our culture, and I do not even know precisely what I mean by our culture- American culture... Western culture... I don't know; but really, what is it that allows us to have such a sincere disconnect with the reverence of humanity?
We could blame the media I guess... but that seems so trite and shallow... I really think there is something deeper there; how did the media become so irreverent? Again, this isn't about the words, it's the intention behind the words... it's the actions accompanying the words. Up until recently, I thought all this jibber jabber about bullying was ridiculous, like it's been happening forever, why are today's kids any different than the bullying that went on in my generation or the generations before. Now, I think maybe it is different... maybe kids are meaner, because many of the 'grown ups' I know seem to be pretty venomous... and where do our kids get their social ques from? Yeah. Hmm...
There is another layer though, when and why and how did us grown-ups get to be so vicious?
Where did that start? I am sure it has been a slow process, that seems cunningly pronounced to me at the moment... but that trail must lead somewhere, right? I have to say, Americans are the most entitled people I have ever met... We all want what we want, we want it now, we deserve it, and fuck whoever thinks they are going to stand in our way. Hell, fuck whoever is standing in our way, be it on purpose or not. I am ME, and therefore YOU OWE ME. It's a bit nauseating when drawn out like that, eh? But we are all guilty of it from time to time.
And no, I do not have any fantastical answers to the questions I have posed in the above paragraphs... I don't even know if there are any simple, black and white answers... but I do think it is important for all of us to be aware of not just what we are saying, but our intentions. Look, I certainly don't think we all have to get along, I am definitely not proposing we sit around, holding hands, singing rounds of kumbayah, I just think it's important to be aware. It's tough, I know... none of us are as perfect as our entitled American brains would have us think; but it is certainly something I am going to attempt to work on...
