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Subject:Semantics and considerate usage From:Gwen Barnes <gwen -dot- barnes -at- MUSTANG -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 6 Jun 1995 15:48:26 GMT
-> Words are the main tools we use to express our thoughts, feelings and
-> opinions. We are social animals, and we need the approval and
-> support of those around us. When those around us express disrespect
-> or hatred, it hurts and angers us. It is, in effect, a slap that
-> misses: the intent is clear.
I can't account for what happened to Hayakawa in his later years,
perhaps the stress of politics proved too much for him. His main point,
however, was that words != things. By consensus they represent things,
but the words themselves are not the same as the things they represent.
Hayakawa's legacy should be that people ought not to complain that
someone else is making them feel worthless, then insist that someone
else should be the one to do something about it.
