This is a proverb that rubs me up the wrong way for all the right reasons! I don’t know when I first heard this saying but it stuck with me. It had a nice ring to it and to a young mind at that time, it seemed to hold some truth to it. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. On the surface level, that assumption is correct. Dive deeper and you will see how it is SO wrong on many levels!
It is a well-known English proverb and it is a often debated proverb today. It appeared somewhere in the mid-19th century and was used as a defense mechanism against name-calling and bullying. All good right? Like I said, on the surface a good thing but look deeper and it brings forth the fact that whoever coined this proverb was either living in a world of privilege or didn’t know what they were talking about!
Call it free speech, call it political debate, call it whatever! Words do have the potential to hurt and sometimes more than sticks and stones. They wound deeply and to someone who is vulnerable, it can take a lifetime to overcome and sometimes never because those seemingly powerless words can cut you down to size, make you feel inadequate, and make you feel like you are NOT ENOUGH as you are.
Hate speech does that very well. It is spewed like a volcanic eruption against someone and at times an innocent child simply because of what they look like or their belief in a certain religion. Yes, it does damage and often irreversible damage.
Use your words carefully because it has the potential to hurt without a weapon in sight! Words are powerful tools and it can either built someone up or tear someone down depending on how you wield it. Perhaps, this proverb started out as a defense mechanism to help those who are objects of bullying or insults but the truth of the matter is that throwing out that proverb whenever someone is faced with “words” of the hateful nature is far from enough to soothe the hurt that a child feels being called a certain name, an adult who is made to feel different in society, and people who are grouped together and are given hateful names. The thing is, the “haters” have found a weapon that works really well for them and that “words” can do the trick just as well as sticks or stones!
The truth is physical wounds may heal in time but words, hurtful ones at that can have a long-lasting impact, mess with your self-image causing emotional scars that may never heal and affect your mental well-being as well.
This proverb although meant well is so wrong on many levels and I rest my case.
Site Title 