In your attempt to determine what you can and cannot say, from not only a legal perspective, but a common decency perspective, a little common sense can go a long way. For instance, if there are words or terms that I know may be offensive or hurtful to someone, then I use won’t those words. Why should I inflict intentional harm? Whoever developed the and stones may saying, “Sticks break my bones, but names will never hurt was naïve. me,” Rather, I subscribe to the statement, and stones may “Sticks break my bones, but words can scar a All of us can lifetime,” recall being ridiculed as kids or being insulted as adults, and those words are not easily forgotten. Words are a most powerful weapon. They are how wars are literally started and ended. If by changing my vocabulary to avoid causing harm I am to be judged as being then I am “politically correct,” most certainly guilty. However, getting caught up in terminology or over analyzing what you say before you say it, can cause people to become overly cautious. Censoring everything you think and feel results in our conversations becoming less genuine. For example, in Australia were told to refrain Santa’s from using St. Nick’s traditional “Ho Ho Ho” greeting because it was derogatory and offensive towards women. were instructed instead to say Is it Santa Claus’ “Ha Ha Ha.” any wonder why so many people get frustrated and discount the validity and importance of choosing our words wisely?
In your attempt to determine what you can and cannot say, from not only a legal perspective, but a common decency perspective, a little common sense can go a long way. For instance, if there are words or terms that I know may be offensive or hurtful to someone, then I won’t use those words. Why should I inflict intentional harm? Whoever developed the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” was naïve. Rather, I subscribe to the statement, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can scar a lifetime,” All of us can recall being ridiculed as kids or being insulted as adults, and those words are not easily forgotten. Words are a most powerful weapon. They are how wars are literally started and ended. If by changing my vocabulary to avoid causing harm I am to be judged as being “politically correct,” then I am most certainly guilty. However, getting caught up in terminology or over analyzing what you say before you say it, can cause people to become overly cautious. Censoring everything you think and feel results in our conversations becoming less genuine. For example, Santa’s in Australia were told to refrain from using St. Nick’s traditional “Ho Ho Ho” greeting because it was derogatory and offensive towards women. Santa Claus’ were instructed instead to say “Ha Ha Ha.” Is it any wonder why so many people get frustrated and discount the validity and importance of choosing our words wisely?
35_Dumb_Things_Well_Intended_People_Say_-_Dr._Maura_Cullen.docx