Words hurt

[amscramhick]

People throw around cruel words like nothing. Not realizing or giving a shit how much it hurts the person the words are aimed at. As children we were raised with the philosophy of "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me". But that is so not true. Words do hurt. And some of the name calling and shit is so STUPID. Like for instance, I hear people using the words "gay" and "retarded" like you would use the word "stupid" or "dumb". Just throwing it around. When in reality, gay and retarded are something that people ARE and cannot help being. And when you throw those words around, you are hurting somebody. When I hear somebody say "you're retarded" or "you're gay" I want to punch them in the face. No, that person does not have a mental disability, yes they may be an idiot, but they are not mentally handicapped, therefore not retarded. And when I hear someone say "oh you're so gay" I want to scream in their face. I have gay friends and I'm bi. And it's like no, they are not gay. Don't abuse words people. Because it hurts. Maybe not even the subject sometimes. You just never know. Think before you speak. If you really want to insult somebody, say something RELEVANT. Thank you for reading my rant.

[iLoveCookies]

I agree. It's people like that who make me honestly ashamed to live in the generation we live in. A few days ago some girl made a post on Facebook about a fiesta being "gay" in Spanish. All I said was when you use words like that, peoples perspectives change about you. And I got attacked by some of her friends,got called a hoe and skank all because i defended my beliefs. Just very disappointing. Anyway.. that was my rant :p

[Carlyle]

Amber, I hear what your saying. But some people do not care so.. Its pointless trying to educate the ignorant if there not willing to learn.

[Amaryllis]

There will always be people who throw mean words around. Immaturity exists. You can't change the entire world but you can change how you react to it. Of course, words -do- hurt but if you let yourself drown in that world of pain, you will never live pass it.

Saying that life gets better would be a lie, so I'm not going to. Because most likely, it won't. That's why you should accept that people can be hurtful and not take it to heart. They more than likely do not realise the extent of their cruelty or cannot see why you would be offended by such a thing.

Words, once said, are gone. They only live in your mind. You choose to focus on the compliments and the positive things people say, rather than the negativity.

[Abyssinian]

I honestly don't care what people are saying...

I use all kinds of derogatory words, at least around my friends, and they know me well enough to know that I don't mean it offensively to the people who it's actually about. "Gay" now means "that sucks" in teenage culture for instance, I use it, my gay friends use it.. it obviously doesn't imply that gay people are being aimed at in those situations.

I'm a little weird and people call me retarded every day. When my gay friends say something insulting I'll be like "You're such a fag."

Even the C word.. INCREDIBLY sexist, but I use it more often than I should because the sexist connotations are gone in my mind. It's just another swear word.

Of course, if someone means it in the context that it was made for.. calling a gay person a "fairy" or a "faggot" just to hurt them, I get mad. But in those cases it's obvious that they're being cruel, not just messing around.

Having been bullied basically all the way through school, I learned to not care. Words are just words to me. Someone calls me retarded, like seriously and aiming to hurt, just because I'm running around and laughing like a lunatic at work? Fine, their opinion, they can talk at me all the want, or they can go jump. It doesn't make much difference.

Those are just my opinions though. And also.. once someone tells me that they're offended by my use of language, I won't do it around them again of course. =)

[Emiil]

I'm gay / bi and I really don't care when ppl use that word. I don't think its offensive really hehe :P I say retarded a lot lol

[blackpo]

I don't care what people say to me but when it happens to other people I freak out and what to kill the person who said some of those words

[lordmac001]

"Stick and stones, may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

Remember that little rhyme from childhood?

It's wrong.

And more than that, it's a lie. Words are very powerful. Words can hurt or heal, build up or tear down, comfort or curse.

According to Mike Gordon, pastor at CenterPoint Church in Ocala, Fla., very few of us are prone to slice and dice our partner with our words.

[Slytherin_Prince]

Your point is valid. Words can hurt, as is scientifically proven.
Words can trigger various areas of the brain directly leading to an emotional response, so words can inflict genuine pain.
Still, I do believe that when someone uses gay as a swear against me, I don't mind.
I mean, I am gay, why would I see it as an insult?
I just don't understand why words like "retarded" and "gay" are used as swears in the first time.
That's the problem I've got with them.

Though I guess my favourite quote applies here. "Those who deny reason, cannot be conquered by it." As has been said before, I have to wonder whether it's actually going to make a difference. Most likely, people will keep using those words as swears.

*sighs* What has this world come to?

most sincerely,
Robert.

[Zoey]

In my opinion, there is no word that is completely out of bounds and should never be used. What is important is context. I would never call someone a fag if they were actually gay and I would never call someone a retard if they were actually mentally handicapped. Likewise, I would never call someone dumb if they really were "dumb" (or insecure about their intelligence). You shouldn't be hurtful to people. But it is possible to use politically incorrect words without being hurtful, and it is possibly to completely rip someone's heart out without using a single "bad" word.

Words have no inherent meaning. They are just sounds that come out of our mouths. These sounds can develop meaning and become words if enough people use them to express the same ideas. But what is important is the idea that is being expressed.

amscramhick, you used the word "idiot" as if it is one of the OK words to use as an insult. But it actually used to be a clinical term for someone who was severely mentally retarded. It developed a stigma, became offensive, and is no longer used. You used it without really thinking about its origin. Just like how people might use the word "gay" to describe something as lame or cheesy without thinking about its origin. What matters is the thought behind the word.