Words don't matter: intention, intonation and intimidation do.

Words don't matter:
intention, intonation and intimidation do.

A straight-forward, less-embellished post today.. but one that means a lot to me. :) 

I'm not so concerned about words, that's all they are- words, letters, sounds.. The "f" word is a common *gasp* word if it comes from the mouth of a child..

However, there are two areas that BUG me!

It seems to be more socially acceptable across a range of social settings to take a dig at another person, with "friendly" name calling.  I am VERY sensitive to name dropping and loose adjective use: silly, clumsy, stupid, dickhead,
.. I am guilty of sarcasm, "friendly" character stabs.. But I will definitely be honest and say it's out of learned relationships with those people and stemming from insecurities and inadequacies.  I cringe each time I say or the other person says it's "all in the name of fun", "you know I'm just kidding", "it's just light hearted"..

We can laugh and have fun without it being at the expense of another through teasing.

Even more upsetting and what im more sensitive with is when genuine disabilities or genuine labels are used as an insult - like "retard" .. even using terms like "gay" in a derogatory way.. Or targeting the gender as the inferior trait in the joke.

When it has become a habit in a relationship it's so hard to change! When you notice a conversation turning into character stabbing and speak up, you feel or even criticized as the "too sensitive" one or the one who "can't take a joke".

In 2013 I vow to be "that one".  Let's be a little more intellectual and find more to laugh at than putting another down. 

Maybe life is too short NOT to take this a little more seriously and to encourage more genuine, interpersonal, meaningful connections with everyone we come in contact with.

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Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinions on "friendly" conversations in your life :)