Gabe Roy
Mrs. Walker
English 112
6 November, 2011
The Power of Words Essay
We have all heard the saying “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt
me”. This statement does not hold much truth and you will soon learn how powerful words
really can be. Don Imus is a key example of how words can impact others in a negative way.
Word choice can be the difference between starving in the streets and living another day as
shown in the Blind Homeless man video. Even words of praise can bring a negative effect on
someone as shown in 5 Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job. Weather words are used to bring
people up or bring people down, words truly have incredible power.
In 2007 Don Imus referred to 10 players on the Rutgers female basketball team as “nappy
headed hos” on his radio show. His comments were completely meant to put down and can be
described as no less than disgusting. Word choice is everything and Don Imus showed that one
slip up can cost you job and respect. Even 4 years later this incident hasn’t been forgotten
which really shows the power his words had on the players, listeners of his show and the
general public. This man truly showed how powerful words can be in a negative sense. These
words were so powerful that it cost him his radio show hosting job at CBS.
In the short YouTube video clip of the homeless man we see how words can have more impact
if displayed in different ways. Sometimes people are desensitized to important issues without
meaning to because the words used to describe the issue have become so over used and cliché
that they lose their meaning. In this particular example we see a blind homeless man begging
for money with a sign. The words on the sign clearly have no effect on the passerby’s, and a
Good Samaritan notices this. She changes the sign to something that will really tug on your
heart strings. She wrote “It’s a beautiful day and I can’t see it”. Suddenly people are giving
change like it’s their job. She walks by later to check on him and he asks what she did to his
sign. She simply responds “I wrote the same, but different words”.
In the short persuasive article entitled “5 Reasons To Stop Saying Good Job” the writer shows
how even praising words can have underlying negative effects and can have power in a bad
way. The main point the writer uses to describe how saying “good job” to your children is that it
keeps them begging for more praise and always checking for approval from someone. This can
lead to low confidence and not being sure of yourself and your abilities. While children are
developing their personality and traits everything said to them is powerful. Having a parent that
shoves “good job” down their throats can really alter their personality and change who they
become in the future. For this reason alone it is quite clear that even sometimes when words
are intended to be positive uplifting, they can sometimes turn the situation into a negative.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words are still very powerful. Weather words are
used to bring people up or bring people down, words truly have incredible power.