The lecture on linguistic violence given by Dr. William Gay was very insightful to say the least. When Dr. Gay began his lecture, he invited the audience to question the truthfulness or lack thereof in the common phrase taught to children “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”, and how this phrase relates to the social ideology of our culture. This phrase implies that people should not be upset by or susceptible to verbal or written abuse brought upon them by others. I agree with Dr. Gay that this phrase is not the solution to the problems that many youth and adults are facing with bullying, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, et cetera brought on by this covert form of violence. While I agree that having the metaphorical
