Gossip, Bad words, and Hurting Others

"If those bad words come, I let them come in one ear and go out the other. I never let them come out of my mouth. If a bad word comes in your ear and then comes out of your mouth, it will go someplace and hurt somebody. If I did that, that hurt would come back twice as hard on me."

-- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA  I wonder if anyone keeps track of how many times they say something that could hurt someone? I know everyone will repeat things about others both good and bad. Yet even saying good things can cause problems. Some times it is just like some bad word going into your ear and coming out your mouth. You can even watch yourself say something and wonder why you are doing it. Everyone also says things that can hurt others. No one is innocent of this form of harm and gossip. The Jewish religion calls it Loshon Hara and it is one of the forbidden things to do to others. You are not supposed to use words to hurt or harm others even if the facts are true. It is so common there are children rhymes to make it easier to take. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." It may sound good but it is very untrue. People judging others, and treating others badly hurts. The words can cause problems especially with making the things said more dramatic. Gossip does hurt others. People seem to stick together in groups. We also put others into groups. We do not see others as real people instead it is seeing ourselves as separate. The groups can be anything. Yet once something is classified as outside of the group and separate then it is when danger can happen to anything not in the group. We have examples through out history of people picking scapegoats and making them a bad example or using them to get everyone to do violence or that cause group problems. Helen of Troy had problems for being beautiful. The Japanese were interned in camps because they could be identified as separate. The color of the skin has been used by every race to say bad things and make others different. Beer commercials make it sound as if the beer is more understanding than the women of the world. A scapegoat used to be the goat sacrificed to appease everyone. In King Kong the actress sacrificed to King Kong was a scapegoat. Anyone that stands up and takes the hit for the group he is a member of is a scapegoat. Many people in jobs can not feel good about themselves unless they pick an office scapegoat to feel superior over. So it is more on the same subject of how we treat our fellow man. Responsibility is the one of the ways to resolve these issues and competing with ourselves. It is not easy to do. Yet in the end it comes down to one thing. We can watch our own actions and hope that good manners become contagious.We can watch ourselves and not do the bad actions that have harmed us.