Paul Atreides knew words could kill, and harnessed their power to save the planet Dune. But some people aren’t so noble.
In Dune, the 1984 movie adaptation of the classic sci-fi book, Paul Atreides knows the power that words have. In the movie (but not the book), his people use devices called Weirding Modules to literally turn words into weapons.
By speaking certain words into the device, people can generate a devastating sonic blast. Most words are innocuous. Maybe they just don’t carry enough emotional intensity. Actually, very few words are known to trigger the device, but they discover others when training the Fremen people to use it.
One soldier makes the innocent mistake of calling Paul by his self-chosen Fremen name, Muad’Dib, while holding a Weirding Module. Paul is as surprised as anyone else when his own name triggers the device, collapsing part of the ceiling. “My name,” Paul thinks to himself, “is a killing word.”
Can words have the same kind of power in reality? After all, we’re told that “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But can’t words do a little more than sticks and stones?
The harmful effect of words might start off small. Someone is told that they’re stupid, or ugly, or they can’t do anything right, and maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal. But when they hear it enough, they start to believe it.
And when people believe that something is wrong with them, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they’re having a bad day and something goes wrong, they think it’s because there’s some truth in what the other person said. They think they deserve it, so they feel worse about themselves. And they pass this feeling on to other people.
It’s not even necessarily the words themselves that do the damage, so much as the way they’re said. When someone takes a word with no inherent negative connotations (such as the name of a religious or ethnic group) and uses it in a negative way, people hear the hate.
Other words are specifically meant to do harm. Several groups, including the Special Olympics, have started campaigns to ban the R-word, as it’s now being called.
Can words kill? Absolutely. 11 year old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself after classmates repeatedly called him “gay” in a derogatory way. It’s unclear whether he actually was gay, or whether he was even old enough to know.
13 year old Megan Meier hanged herself after several people created a fake MySpace account, pretending to be a 16 year-old boy who told Megan “The world would be a better place without you.”
In middle school and high school, Seung-Hui Cho was teased for his social anxiety and speaking disorder. People told him to “Go back to China” (he was Korean). As one classmate said, “There were just some people who were really cruel to him, and they would push him down and laugh at him. He didn’t speak English really well, and they would really make fun of him.” Cho went on to kill 32 people plus himself in the Virginia Tech massacre.
Words have more power than you think. Is it really so hard to use them to help rather than harm? For some ideas, watch this:
Words can be toxic enough to break one’s day. Especially if mentioned to the very first thing in the morning. One of my early goals (till today) is to constantly put a good word to others when the opportunity is there.
And I know you’ll have a great week ahead Hunter!
Daniel Richard´s last blog post..Psst… Secret Of “The Kaizen Project” Is Out!
I’m a sap for an uplifting story. This was a great reminder of the ripple effect that positive words can have in people’s lives.
I have no sympathy for Seung-Hui Cho. He was obviously a profoundly narcissistic individual. Anyone who feels compelled to make others miserable because they themselves are miserable thinks very highly of themselves. That if they are suffering, it’s only right others do too.
That said… Where are the parents when kids are teasing others? Yes, I want to put much blame on the parents. Obviously, much of the responsibility goes to those who tease too, they’re not let off the hook by any means. They are equally responsible, but it could have been avoided had the parents instilled the importance of not teasing. If not fully, it would certainly diminish it.
Words can have profoundly damaging effects. I think we tend to roll our eyes when we hear of teasing. Because it’s an emotional assault and not a physical one.
But that’s a mistake. Because the detrimental effects from teasing can have profoundly devastating effects. More devastating than getting physically beat up and mugged. Where as that is a one time ocurrence, teasing is something done over and over again (relentlessly) and it can leave its marks for years and years. If not a lifetime.
So… Yeah… I really do want to know where the parents are when their child is teasing other children. Teasing them, and making their life miserable. My belief is that every parent should have a good long talk with their kids about teasing (many of them), how detrimental it can be and how if the parent ever finds out their child has been teasing, there’s going to be some serious consequences.
But here’s the thing: The parents would probably never find out. So in that case, they need to, from as early as possible, instill upon their children that you just don’t tease. That you respect your classmates. That you treat them like human beings.
That you seek out self-esteem from places other than teasing and putting others down.
Bamboo Forest – PunIntended´s last blog post..Why You Must Step Up to the Plate Regardless of Your Skill
Words are powerful and it can kill. Your example of committing suicide and murder are really sad, extreme cases, but even seemingly neutral, or even scientific words can kill by forming beliefs. Allow me to leave a link to my book review of Dr Bruce Lipton, who writes about the power of belief. If you tell someone he is going to die with the cancer, he will. Even when the cancer isn’t that bad.
Words can also have positive effects, just as powerful as its destructive effects. So it’s important to tell our loved ones how wonderful they are and how much we care about them.
We can make a beautiful New World by using loving words. In Buddhism, “loving words” is a way of spiritual practice, and it’s considered to be as essential as other practices such as meditation, or giving to charity.
@ Daniel, hey, you changed your picture…very pensive looking! Good luck on putting a good word out to others.
@ Natalie, glad you liked it.
@ Bamboo Forest, I agree that we pay far too little attention to emotional attacks. But punch someone, and everything thinks they should sue. Why are physical attacks supposed to be so much worse? I think the blame for teasing is shared my lots of people, and we all need to do our part.
@ Akemi, very interesting about the cancer thing. They say there’s really something to the mind-body connection. I hadn’t heard about the “loving words,” but I can see how it’s important.
[...] am totally pissed off to read the news in which words like “gay” is used derogatively. (HT: Hunter Nuttall) What is it that is bad about loving someone, whether the person is of the same sex or opposite [...]
The tongue is an amazing thing. It can create life or death. No in between. Its so phenomenal how just a few words, can change the way a person look at you. You can make a friend by asking 1 question. Yet we use it to destroy other people self esteem and bring them down. Too many people on this planet lack positivity and optimism. This is a reason why kids are dying each day.
[...] am totally pissed off to read the news in which words like “gay” is used derogatively. (HT: Hunter Nuttall) What is it that is bad about loving someone, whether the person is of the same sex or opposite [...]