Hopefully, your life hasn’t been filled with violence. That would be words directed against you.
A Yale psychologist says they are the same thing.
MedPage Today has published Dr. Amanda Calhoun’s article, which equates the harm of each.
While you may claim to be sensitive towards the possible effects of physical actions, it is also important to consider the consequences of verbal behavior. Sometimes jokes can prove to be equally as dangerous as physical violence for those who hear them.
A child might find viciously bullying him or her more painful than just a simple thump on his knuckle. But I’d assume that’s not what the doctor means. It is possible she thinks language and violence are similar in their destructiveness.
The mental health expert’s piece was prompted by the recent “slap heard around the world” — it’s titled “Should Will Smith’s Slap Be Condemned More Harshly Than Chris Rock’s Words?”
Comedian Chris, as you likely know, lobbed a mild joke during the Oscars referencing actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s closely-cropped hair. In return, husband Will took to the stage with a smack of the host’s face — followed by shouted vulgarity that was broadcast around the world.
So were Will’s actions worse than joke-man Chris’s comedic comment? According to Amanda, it’s uncertain:
Instead of siding with Smith and Rock, I think the situation is much more complex. This raises an even bigger question: Is it fair to judge a physical attack more harshly than verbal? I don’t think so.
The psychiatrist points out that words may comprise “a form of abuse, and can lead to depressive symptoms and even suicide.”
That’s undoubtedly true, but it’s a far cry from comparing Chris and Will at the Academy Awards.
Yet, this is the world in which we live — one that has thoroughly thrown out the old adage about only sticks and stones breaking bones. These days, as we’re increasingly advised, mere mouth-sounds amount to violence.
It seems to be a sure path to speech restriction, regardless of the motivation.
See:
Student Paper Will Promote Diversity by Preventing It as Free Speech Is Swapped for ‘Safety’
Booksellers Association CEO Apologizes for the ‘Violence’ of Accidentally Promoting a Conservative Book
University Schools Students on the Importance of Free Speech — and Reporting People Who Use It
At least the woke aren’t speciesists:
Legal Journal publishes Plea to Hate Speech Laws for Animal Protection
Woke in the Water: Shark Advocates Call for an End to the Word ‘Attacks’ in Favor of ‘Interactions’
Yet, America seems to have lost its ability to see the importance of these high stakes. As I’ve previously posed:
I believe we’ve lost our sense of scale. …
We’re so zoomed in, the bigger picture eludes us.
And we’re so weak that all perception of all difficulty has become all the same.
The country’s conception of struggle has radically transformed.
And it hasn’t come from the bottom up; we’ve been leveled by our leadership.
We’re told that disagreement is “hate” and words are “violence.”
We’re informed we must be bolstered by our environment — and we must not only be seen but “feel” so.
Anyone who does not wish to confirm us must obey the rule of law.
Any incident unsupportive of our ideas, we’re assured, causes us “harm.”
In such an instance, we’re advised, we’ve been robbed of our dignity. We’ve been aggressed. We’ve been erased.
Erased — our mere existence is only made possible by all the world telling us we are right.
So disagreement isn’t just hate but also death.
We could not be stronger.
How, indeed.
Is violence defined as words? There is no violence, as words have a definition. And if the victim goes to its extreme, they are unlikely to be brought back to health. With words, there’s always a chance of healing. It is possible to make the victim stronger again.
America can do it, hopefully.
-ALEX
You can find more of my content here:
Public Library Hosts a Dance Class for the Elderly — No Whites Allowed
Ohio State Student Government Rep Says Whites Are Taught They’re Superior, but Black People Actually Are
Harvard Offers Students Sex Surgeries and ‘Chemical Transgender Conversion Therapy’
Check out all of my RedState work Here.
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