Hankford: Mom! Reginald hit me and kicked me and told me I smelled bad and that he hates me and that I was a worm!
Reality Reginald: Hankford smells bad.
I was analyzing this the other year as I watched my niecephews report the wrongdoings of their siblings to parents. I think I have yet to see a child report the exact facts with no exaggeration of the events.
But we never grow up.
Chester: Steve said all blondes are idiots!"
Reality Steve: I like black hair.
But for better or worse, we read emotion into people's comments. I think that reality is important, but reality is more than words.
When a child reports to mom or dad that their sibling hates them, it's probably not true, but that doesn't mean that the kid doesn't feel unloved by their sibling, whether or not the words "I hate you" left the siblings mouth or not.
I don't know what the point is. Cause the literal words matter, and we should pay attention to the words people say, and sometimes we need to look past the literal words to the meaning. But sometimes you need to acknowledge that your words hurt more than you knew.
"You smell," might just be a comment about your aroma, or might even be a statement of fact about your ability to inhale scent. But it could also hurt more than just words.
When people called me names when I was younger I remember chanting back "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me."
As an adult I feel much more like: "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can really hurt me."
Again, I don't know what the point of this is, except to say that when a child is exaggerating what was said to them, it might not be a lie to get the other kid in trouble. It might be an accurate representation of how they are feeling. I know that I have used stronger words to describe a situation in order to accurately express how I felt about it.
 |
| Sadly I cannot find the name of the artist to give them credit :( |
