“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” To me, this statement is so far from the truth, as many inflammatory remarks can strike straight to a person’s core.
After watching this news segment, what do you think about freedom of speech?
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/01/20131992347526444.html
Syed Abbas
CORRECTION.
Depends upon the educational level of audience. If the audience are mostly illiterate or semi-educated, the consequence of spoken/printed words can be disastrous and even fatal, like the consequence of the cartoons in Danish Newspaper or the book of Salman Rushdie. Few individuals of all religions, including Muslims, call all kinds of vile names to God Almighty Himself when extremely frustrated by their dire circumstances, and no body bats an eye. When you snide about a deiti like character from history, hell breaks loose. The popular street cliche “Deg se ziada chamcha garam” comes to mind. This is specially true of the Muslims all over the world. One, with a bit of luck, can get away with loud grumbling against Allah, but God forbid if he cast slightest aspersion on the Prophet. The ultimate degree of awe and reverence for the Prophet is imperative, because if any one thinks any less of Prophet then the entire edifice of Islam comes crashing down because the very foundation of Divine Revelation and Holy Ordaining of the Prophet get tainted with ‘ what if ‘.
” “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” is no longer true in the Justice System of USA. The Judges and Jury have held that an spouse using unkind words to hurt the other spouse is held liable for causing emotional abuse.