Danger of Speech

By: Jonathan Seidel

Speech is but the greatest tool in man’s arsenal. A power greater than nuclear weapons. The word of man can build or destroy in the blink of an eye. Even past the elitist autocrats, speech remains the most delicate aspect of the human anatomy. 

Man spends much time speaking. How much of that time is wasted on nonsense. Spitting sounds to convey jargon. Beyond the hateful words, the use of basic formulas to say nothing is a normative experience. Speech is our model of communication. We do not watch our speech. So open with our communication. We take it for granted. It rolls off our tongue with such grace and simplicity. It is a true marvel that is ignored for its pragmatism. It does its job and we move on. Communication is completed through the vibrations of sounds without a care. 

The use for detrimental matters is distasteful. We have a gift and we sully it with negativity and hate. Man possesses such power and it is laid to waste for inferior motives. To hurt others and demonstrate superiority. Speech is a method of portraying difference and distance. Weaponised to further divide. To convey the absurd to the other. Emotional angst prompts the negativity. Instead of keeping it inside, it is blurted out with fervour. The falsity of our honest is brutality. We forcefully insist on notifying our feelings publicly. To put down others is not necessary with physicality but with spirit. 

The term hate speech though improperly defined as such terminology is not physically harmful. One does not bleed but it surely hurtful. Breaking another’s spirit could be worse. Emotional damage sinks much deeper than physical pain. Wounds heal but stress does not as quickly, if not ever. Trauma is eternally pressing on the mind. Reminding the offended of their inadequacies. Hurtful words become a reoccurring attack, one that does not require spatial proximity. A curse of sorts on the future mind. A curse that cannot be undone by the attacker nor easily by the victim. Emotional damage requires time, sometimes even therapy to overcome. Emotional pain sinks deep needing external aid to push through. A curse worse than a firing squad. A torture like no other. 

Living with pain supersedes easy death. Sticks and stones break bones but words harm like daily stones breaking the mind. It is a cancer with no chemo capability. Ignorance is the sole antibiotic but at times insufficient to assist the sensitive. Man is delicate. His mind is weak. Pounding him with negativity affects him greatly. Only those reflective and high self-esteem have a chance. Teasing only breaks man faster. Unable to handle he begins to believe he is what he is called. He transforms into the negativity. The devalued specimen. The change haunts him. He is tension from his older self. His happy go lucky personality is ruined by a darkness. Stuck in an enduring nightmare of name-calling and depression. He has become a different person marked by the words of another. 

Words are violence in their right. They are light as feathers, harmless to the body but crippling to the mind. They are realised and cannot be taken back. Once it is out there there is no rewind. What is said is the eclipse of future consequences. The sounds vertebrate into oblivion. That which is heard is transmitted. It is captured and stored away for good. The violence to the other with terminological horror is harassment. It belittles his being and dismisses his dignity. The offended can only cover his ears and hope to god he does not make them out. The aural internalisation is the cancerous penetration. It is a poisonous bacteria infecting the subject. Tortured by the force of the worlds and how he feels about their message. The words are posed to the other in charismatic confidence and involuntary received. 

Speech has a recipient. Interpretation is a direct response to the speaker. Like telephone, there is no certainty the words will be understood as intentioned. Speech must be careful as it can be misconstrued. Precision is critical. The receiver’s understanding is essential. Speech is one part of the encounter. Speech needs a listener. That listener may hear incorrectly or interpret divergently. Repeat and contextualise terminology. The interpreter is sucked into the speech experience. His attendance is auditorial. He internalises and decides to persist the experience or walk away. A sacred union of communication muddled with routine and limitless capacity. The interpreter must act in good faith. It is not on the speaker to reflect his speech. It is on the interpreter to question to ensure he comprehended correctly. 

Was violence intended or a misunderstanding? Speech is a tricky art. Interpretation is vast and maybe even infinite. The respondent must inquire precision for a proper account. If misconstrued or taken out of context, violence may be done to the speaker. How the resonant replies has its own set of consequences. He must qualify the speaker’s words and regard him in good faith. The only way for possible reconciliation is through benefit of the doubt. If the resonant heard something negative, he must ensure he conceived accurately. Internalisation may fit certain agendas or preconceived notions. An unbiased a priori accepting notion. Good faith is the primal reaction. Dignify before rationalisation. The first act is questioning the self. If understood coherently. If certain respond. In the negative it is best to proceed with caution.

The violence of speech is the curse it places on man in his long life of struggle. The perpetuated torment from simple words is haunting. It is more powerful than we are are of. We say we are only joking but words cut deep. They awaken insecurities and fears buried beneath the surface. Knowledge we’d rather be left under the mat. Facts we are not ready to deal with just yet and wish to ignore. Another stealing that freedom from down under is an invasion of privacy and a confiscation of what is most dear. It is an unwarranted terroristic attack on the self. At the same time, the interpreter must not intentionally or not abuse his power. He is at the speaker’s mercy. He cannot take back his words but the interpreter can conjure them as he pleases. Once it is out there it is an expression with power to help or harm. The speaker utters freely and the respondent channels those sounds into a creation. A monster perhaps to prey on the speaker. The union of the speaker and interpreter is magical and necessarily holy in their experiential depth. The encounter is driven by communication. Violence can be asserted on both sides. The danger is real so tread carefully.