200620 solstice muse - words

solstice muse

  writing and speaking words aloud are important, empowering, almost magical,  as when a thing's true name will invoke that thing. it is an idea that shows up in many stories, the ursula leguin young-people's series, the name of which escapes me; and there is rumplestiltskin, of course.

  words have psychological power for the speaker, in that naming a human action or condition makes it real, concrete, both for bad and for good. saying aloud that you might have cancer is facing that fear head-on. but it also prepares you to move forward: there are actions you can take, and medical and moral support that you can count on. it means you can now move past the "out loud" acknowledgment, the "oh f***" and the "deep breath". time is again our "moving sidewalk": inexorably we are swept into the future as in a river.] 

  words have psychological power in relationships, what we say to others will have emotional, intellectual and social impact on them. there are always unintended consequences, as k says.

words have power in society. what we speak aloud in public gatherings of every sort, will change us, speakers and listeners. what is written in a newspaper or on a website will affect its readers.         

  when wrongs (and rights!) are exposed in written and spoken words they can't be put back in the box and hidden again. when you call an evil from the shadow a person or a society can acknowledge and destroy the evil by destroying its hiding places. bullies and liars also use words for psychological and social power, which makes them insidiously dangerous.

  when you speak to your child, your partner, and the world. make your words true, empowering, and kind.

  this is what i went looking for, because it seemed i was STILL seeing stories of black men killed by police, after george floyd, after the uprising. one at least of the officers was fired in one case. was the officer charged with a crime?

 stop it! you people in charge, stop it! do you want to be the last police chief who didn't stop it??

take away their guns. give them phasers set on stun, or "holdstill"!

see full article:

http://globalnews.ca/news/7063472/global-george-floyd-protests/

thank you for visiting. keep safe!