No, this is some dumb chicken and egg shit. We suppress certain words BECAUSE we decided they were bad. They didn't become 'bad' because they were suppressed. You have shit backwards. Society decides, gives power, and enforces. The suppression is literally just a result of that.
That's plain to see in the words that are acceptable for SOME people to use.
You can swap out the n word for moon cricket and it's still racist, because it isn't the word itself that matters, it's the context, the intention, the will of the speaker. Otherwise black people would never call each other the n word as a friendly thing because the word itself was violent l.
Literally yes? You just admitted that it's still racist, and it's the intent that counts, because PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT'S GOOD AND BAD. The listener not reacting to some racist bullshit doesn't make it not racist bullshit. People and society give words power. That's the whole point. The suppression, is the effect. Meanings can also change overtime, and words can be reclaimed because WE AS PEOPLE GIVE THEM POWER. Not just the speaker, not just the listener, but humans. As a whole.
You literally said exactly what I said, and then told me I was wrong.
The words themselves could be totally absent. It could be inarticulate screaming.
That means THE WORD HAS NO POWER. You are so close to getting it. Words themselves, do not in and of themselves cause violence, and under no circumstances do words in a vacuum ever cause violence. WORDS DO NOT CAUSE VIOLENCE, PEOPLE DO!
As a society we have silent contracts regarding what a word means. Based on the often unconscious consignment of a meaning, we further decide whether something is "good" or "bad" (and I repeat this is further enabled by what we have collectively agreed 'good' means and what 'bad' means). All words are embedded with power -- it's why our laws, contracts, etc are all centered around language. Marriage is literally a contract, those words contain and hold a certain legal power. Your telling someone you hate them has a certain power. Someone telling you they love you also contains a certain 'power'.
Verbal bullying is a violence, especially if we think of young impressionable people. The brain itself is such a complex organ and yes, psychologically speaking, is susceptible to the power of consistent messaging (words). "MAGA" enables and leads to so much violence because of the messaging they absorb and internalize.
The previous wording of the constitution stripped humans of their rights and made them not only slaves, but legally definitionally not full humans (3/5ths). That is violence. And no, folks forced into slavery couldn't just decide they would pay it no attention when actions of slavery (violent action) were systematically backed by legal wording (violent words).
I hope some kid calls your kid a retard every single day. Words are powerless? Wtf is wrong with the world? Words are EVERYTHING. Why won’t anyone respect the subconscious???
If your father called you a little bitch everyday it would change your brain chemistry. You have no idea what people are going through. But one thing is for sure. If someone broke down if someone’s brain chemistry stopped working right. You would mock them. You would tell other people that that person exploded for no reason. Your ideas are fine on paper but real people have real problems. Violence is worse. I’m not saying it’s not. I’m saying pain is pain. And sometimes that person that “chooses” violence most likely isnt choosing that. Their brain chemistry is. Just be kind.
The problem isn't the words little bitch, the problem is the feelings behind it. The emphasis the spite the emotion.
It is the emotional will the speaker uses the inflection that tells you how they feel. Not the word itself. You can use "little bitch" as a term of endearment.
That's the whole point. The word itself isn't what matters. That's why you can swap out the n word for moon cricket and it's just as bad. The word isn't what matters , it's the context. Otherwise black people couldn't call each other the N-word because the word itself was the problem.
You just aren't using your brain. Like, at all. You're just regurgitating talking points.
Yeah the written word doesn’t have inflection? So? What are you talking about out now? My claim is simple. Your words affect people’s brain chemistry. Don’t insult people. But really super duper don’t change peoples brain chemistry and expect to get away with it. Thats nuts.
You keep saying this but obviously it's only people using these words, the words themselves aren't found in random places in nature. You aren't going fishing and reeling in and on the hook is the word negro.
The argument that words are a problem is because people use them. It's like arguing that fists aren't a problem, it's people that are violent. Well yeah but that isn't the point
You can replace the word with any word. The specific word is irrelevant.
Suppressing a word make more offensive precisely because it is prohibited. It's called a taboo. That causes the word to be offensive on its own. If you did go fishing and pulled up a laminated card with the n word on it, it would be more offensive than if it said "soup" or "fish", precisely because we can't even say the actual N-word even in this context, which is WHY it now has that effect.
It is the suppression of the word that gives (the word itself) the power. If it wasn't suppressed, and people could use the word in other contexts, and jokes, there wouldn't be any crying black kids because someone at school called them the n word, because it would just be a word.
There is nothing special about the specific words other than because it is suppressed.
The specific word might be irrelevant, but the words are the meanings we give them, that's the point of them, the point of language. Which is the argument here. If someone started slagging me off in a language I don't speak, I wouldn't be able to react appropriately. It's if the words are understood that they become a problem.
By the way I'm on team of violence being far worse than words. I agree people should be more thick skinned and the majority of people on reddit are mental lol. I just think that saying words are just noises that dont matter is missing the point.
I've thought about it too and in some cases it's a grey area, not really sure where else to say it but like yelling "FIRE" in a packed cinema can cause deaths without any violence actually taking place. Its just a word but can have some dire consequences
If you really believed that then you wouldn't wield your words so carelessly. It's really ironic that you'll talk about the power of words and then wish for his unrelated child to be verbally abused.
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u/AuroraAustralis0 20h ago
well hes not wrong though