Sticks and Stones....

When I was growing up I was taught the phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  We lost that bit of common sense somewhere along the way. We knew the difference between words and actions.  When we taught our children to take every word as a threat, we lost our minds as a culture.

My mother was not the most orthodox mother on the planet, but she raised resilient children. One day walking back from school, a group of black kids called me a half breed (one of the kids involved actually had a white mother and a black father, unlike me with two black parents).  A little further along a group of white kids called me the n-word.  When I walked into the house, Mom took one look at my face and knew that I was fit to be tied.

After telling my mother the story of my afternoon, Mom just laughed.  Mom explained that people only bother to do this to those they are intimidated or jealous.  Her approach was take the complement and move on.

My mother did not tell me that I was a victim of bullying. Or that I should know that I would be scarred for life.  Her ability to laugh at my bad day did something miraculous.  She made those who tried to injure me with their words small and harmless.  By contrast she made me strong and powerful.

Let's make our children strong again--Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...unless I let them.