re: BugDevil
FRIENDSHIP WINS
No need for great analyses. This was a pay off chapter and I thoroughly enjoyed it~
One if the things I’ve always thought odd about society was the idea that physical violence is never ok, but verbal “violence” is. In this example the teachers words could potentially create an emotional scar that could take years to heal, while his bruise will heal in a week. Not to mention how high Japan’s suicide rate is. A large chunk of the cause is probably due to bullying. The main issue with bullying isn’t the physical pain, but rather the emotional and mental pain.
You also have to think about how to resolve an issue without violence, you need the wit and influence to do so, and if you don’t then all that’s left is violence.
...as for this. The ideal case is not to retaliate at all. You need to understand when you are in no position to counter-attack. We already discussed the alternatives she should have taken.
Yet the saying holds true "Sticks and stones break my bones, but words can never hurt me". It's true that continous verbal abuse or the words of someone close can have a strong painful effect, but to have such a remark by a stranger without a clue hurt you deeply, you already must be quite insecure. Which Kurokawa clearly seemed to be, but as this chapter showed, isn't anymore.
Words you can ignore, blend out or run away from. Physical pain, not so much. It's also way more obvious, so it can be traced back and get you into trouble easier than verbal attacks.
Words we consider racist, mysognist, etc. are a counter to "but to have such a remark by a stranger without a clue hurt you deeply, you already must be quite insecure." for many.
I have scars from bullying and think verbal abuse is underestimated and undervalued.
If physical abuse does not leave obvious marks, it can be overlooked as well.
Abuse is generally an emotional term. Physical damage without suffering is often (rightly) not considered abuse. People can get others into trouble by physically damaging themselves or permitting excess physical damage and are more likely to believe being able to prevent such damage as evidence.
It's just easier for humans to evaluate what they can touch and see. So physical abuse gets more attention than verbal abuse. The latter is more frequent and more accessible for doing harm to others. Unless you believe a person force into death (e.g. murdered and cursed) suffers more, I'd argue you can more easily do greater harm with words -- by the very nature that your emotional space is nearly unbounded. Once the bodies dead, you can't do further harm (unless you believe physical abuse can extend suffering beyond physical death).
To me, it's easy to explain emphasis on one or the other, but easy and simple are often neither correct nor sufficient. And that's how bullying and psychological health handling are in US to me, often incorrect and almost always insufficient.
last edited at Feb 24, 2019 10:01AM
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