In my life I have heard the old adage: “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never break me,” in many different contexts and phrasings, and each time I hear it I think to myself- ‘no greater a lie have I ever heard.’ Words do not need the intent of a human voice behind them, they do not need tone or inflection to make a point. Language is the greatest human tool, and like any other tool, it can build or destroy. In fact, its capacity for destruction is unparalleled. Unlike physical tools, words do not bruise, they infect. They dig deep into the brain and sit, feeding off of your reactions, eating away at the mind until it kills the mind, and then remains until fought off, or until the mind kills the body. I believe words matter, and hateful, spiteful, destructive words matter most. Words from a stranger, using hateful, damaging infectious language can wash off like sand, stinging and irritating only momentarily. However, when the words hit a thought your …show more content…
Figureheads with mouths that spew disgusting, acidic words spread across all forms of language media and ring loudly, a doomsday gong, in our ears and echo around our minds. Seductive with their implied power, carrying overhead the feeling that only the stupid or uneducated ignore their dominance. Spoken by the pillars of our modern society, this language infects the minds of the credulous and attacks the minds of the resilient. It destroys any social standing through estranging the different, denouncing the opposition, and acting the victim to the strong. This manipulative, cruel language permeates minds of the young and old, playing host to their worries and feeding their egos, enticing the ego’s want for superiority. Destructive words spoken by mentors and heroes shrink you down, make you feel small, useless and insignificant, or like a stain on society, one that these words plan to wipe