Infected Words

For fifty years, from October 2, 1950, to January 3, 2000, Charles M Schulz, instructed us in the values and vicissitudes of daily life through the Peanuts comic strip. I was a dedicated reader as I was growing up—and still love the classic reprints. Who could forget Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, Linus and his blanket, Charlie Brown pining for the little red-haired girl, Pigpen, Spike, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty and all the rest? One particular strip, only one, has stayed in my mind all these years.

Linus: I think you should stop saying 'nyaah nyaah nyaah' to Charlie Brown. Those 'nyaah's can hurt!
Sally: Oh, don't be ridiculous!
Linus: Well, they do hurt! Those 'nyaah's can get down in your stomach and really hurt!
Sally: You're crazy! A few 'nyaah's can't hurt anybody!
Linus: They can if they become infected!

My parents used to tell me to rebuff my older brothers' taunts with “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words/names will never hurt me.” I dutifully repeated that, but I knew it wasn’t actually true. Words do get down in your stomach or your heart and hurt; they can even get “infected.” This infection is what happens when someone is offended by another’s words and begins to harbor anger or bitterness, perhaps even refusing to ever speak with the person again. It is what happens when something said is remembered and replayed over and over again, sometimes for years, the hurt never lessening, the unfairness of it all becoming greater as time passes.

So what should we do? First, if we are the ones doing the criticizing, fault-finding, ridiculing, name-calling, minimizing, “joking” at another’s expense—the answer is simple: Stop it.

If we are the ones receiving the criticism, ridicule, painful jokes, etc., the answer is more complex. We may need to lighten up. Just because someone says something doesn’t make it true. Examine, “What is really the truth about me?” and then we need to practice telling ourselves the truth. We may need to speak honestly: “I feel hurt when you say things like that. Please stop.” We must forgive, or the harm we do to our spirits and our bodies can be greater than the original hurt.

Linus, you were absolutely right.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

(For some Peanuts nostalgia, go to this source: http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~dinoj/peanuts.html)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com