{"id":702,"date":"2011-01-09T14:38:39","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T21:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=702"},"modified":"2011-01-09T14:38:39","modified_gmt":"2011-01-09T21:38:39","slug":"sticks-stones-and-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerrysjuicebar.com\/blog\/?p=702","title":{"rendered":"Sticks, Stones, and Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was young, like many I learned the little maxim “sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me.”<\/p>\n

It was a phrase tossed around to try and convince ourselves (and others) that the mean, horrible, and hurtful things that people said about you didn’t, well, hurt.<\/p>\n

But of course we knew better.\u00a0 Even back then when we were little.\u00a0 We knew that regardless of how many times we told ourselves that words would never hurt us, words hurt.<\/p>\n

Words do hurt.\u00a0 In fact, words are more painful than sticks or stones because the hurt and damage they cause can last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Want proof?<\/p>\n

Think back ten years to the last time you sprained an ankle while running; hit a finger after missing a nail; stubbed your toe; or taken a fall and broken something?<\/p>\n

Remember?\u00a0 It healed, right?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now think back ten years to the last time someone you loved said something mean to you; to the time when Mom or Dad or brother or sister made some crude, careless remark; to the time when your boss or colleague cut you down; the last time you were publicly rejected or humiliated.<\/p>\n

Still hurts, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

Words are doubly dangerous because they hurt you then AND they hurt you now.<\/p>\n

But wait, there’s more.<\/p>\n

Words are man’s most dangerous weapon because they can spread.\u00a0 They are the world oldest pandemic.\u00a0 They can create fear.\u00a0 They can foster hate.\u00a0 They can incite action.\u00a0 Every mob, every pogrom, every instance of mass hysteria starts with words.<\/p>\n

I am in the business of words.\u00a0 I have a healthy respect for them.\u00a0 I respect them because I know that in the right hands they can change people’s minds and motivate people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do.<\/p>\n

So those in the business of words, take note:<\/p>\n