Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But Words Will Never Hurt Me?

It is true that sticks and stones may break my bones.  It is very true that being beaten is a surefire way to get hurt.  It is very easy for us to think that because we are not physically beating somebody up, that we aren't hurting anybody up.  But is it true that words will never hurt me?

Have we stopped to think about our words?  I was bullied in Middle School and some of the stuff that was told to me is still rattling in my head to this day, even though I am 34 and I have grown so much!  It is not easy to forget what others say about you or to you. 

Words destroy and build.  They destroy in gossip, in insults and in unkind words to others.  They build others in compliments and kind words.  Sometimes, even the truth is hurtful.  And we have to discern whether the truth we tell is kind and edifying or destroying.

Words destroy in gossip and unkindness.  Have we engaged in gossip?  Have we engaged in unkind words?  Have we insulted someone?  Have our words been unkind, even at the expense of someone else?

I was once told by a priest that words "kill".  When our words kill, did you know that you should confess to a violation of the 6th commandment - Thou shall not kill?

Sometimes we take the attitude that because we are telling the truth it's okay to go ahead and be unkind.  I agree that sometimes, there's no other way than to be brutally honest (like an intervention, for example) but let's be humble and not be above others in that sense.  We can always be kind (even in an intervention) even when we are telling a brutally honest truth.

Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter.

It is with great concern that I write this, as the country seems to be upside down over the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and then a dozen police officers targeted and gunned down in Dallas, Texas, of which 5 have died as of the writing of this blog.

First off, Black Lives Matter.  There does seem to be a systemic racism against people of color, in which they seem to be targeted by the justice system a lot more, often resulting in fatal arrests whereas people with less melanin in their skin do not end up dead.

Equally important, Blue Lives Matter.  Targeting and killing cops is not a solution either.  These people don their uniforms everyday to serve and protect everyone.

Black and Blue Lives Matter are not mutually exclusive.  I have seen in my Facebook feed that people tend to choose sides.  Either Black or Blue lives, but not both.  This is a very dangerous stance, because it seems to put colored people against policemen and policemen against colored people.  This is very wrong.  Most cops aren't bad.  Most black people aren't bad.  (Most people in general aren't bad.)  And we have to operate on the idea that most people are good and act in good conscience.  

As in all groups, there's always a bad apple (yes, even in your group), and those people should be held accountable for all wrongdoing, especially murder, whether it be a murder of a black life, blue life, or whatever other color.  They say justice is blind, but apparently, in this country, not color blind.

Also, which is it?  We hear from gun advocates that people should carry guns to stave off violence.  However, when Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed, "they shouldn't have had guns on them".  I don't hear the NRA coming to their defense.  Have we become accustomed to white privilege so much that this is not an outrage?

Just some thoughts.  We cannot be silent anymore.  Not taking sides is taking sides with the oppressor, as Elie Wiesel said.