8/2/2019 Words as Stones

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Words As Stones

Griot Sourcebook

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8/2/2019 Words as Stones

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Words As Stones

An amazing note to the rabid definiens that so many who

earn their living working with words have no clue when

words, by their intent, meaning, cultural reference, and

sheer force cross the line to violence. The word is a

modern stone; it strikes fear, hurls stomach-turning

anxiety, raises blood pressure, causes sleeplessness,

triggers depression. It makes those outside of its targets

flinch, leave many stunned, make others angry, and

reinforces the oppressive nature of policy and inequality

by making nasty noises about a persons human worth.

Violent words are not irony, colorful puns, generaldisdain, or an assignation for putzes. Violent words start

deep in a psychology whose purpose is to destroy and

disable a person, and often a group. They are a verbal

slap. When turned on a member of a class, they set a

tone for more violence. One Texas law, written in words,

meets and requires women to undergo the legal and

personal equivalent of rape, defined as an informed

clinical procedure.Yet the defenders dont claim a reverse

equivalency when women legislators introduced bills to

require men who seek Viagra or other dysfunction

medication to undergo invasive rectal examinations, or

(my favorite!) men must undergo extensive counseling

and a waiting period before receiving vasectomies.

More and more, any hope for a higher standard for

our country is becoming obsolete. Words can bedismissed, their equivalency misrepresented, but their

pain doesnt go away.

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