We all learned as children that sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us.
Yet most Americans, and especially Generation Z, have apparently forgotten this basic lesson.
An alarming new survey released by the nonpartisan Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression revealed that a huge chunk of the US population actually believes that words can be a form of violence.
Only 20% of Americans surveyed flatly rejected this notion.
Meanwhile, 80% agreed, at least to some extent, that “words can be violence.” Most disturbingly, fully 45% said they “mostly” or “completely” agreed with this suggestion.
That’s right: Nearly half the country strongly believes words and violence are interchangeable, an idea more popular among Gen Zers, women and Democrats, less so among Republicans, independents, men and Generation X.
Perhaps the split isn’t that surprising. After all, many of the college campuses where young people are forming their worldviews basically do treat words as violence, with their speech-policing safe spaces, trigger warnings and free speech zones.
No shock, then, that so many Americans have internalized this message.
But surprising or not, it’s truly disturbing.
No matter how widespread it may be, this belief simply isn’t true — ask anyone who’s ever been punched in the face.
It’s actually insulting to victims of real violence to conflate their experience with that of having your feelings hurt by mean words.
That’s not to say words can’t cause harm or stress; of course they can.
But so can getting assigned a difficult task at work, or receiving an F on an exam — and those things certainly aren’t violence.
Besides, who gets to decide which opinions and words are so offensive that they somehow morph into an assault?
That’s a power so inherently subjective that it will inevitably be unequally and unfairly applied, if we allow the bright line between words and violence to be blurred.
Free speech is a fundamental concept that’s central to everything that makes America what it is. For so many of our citizens to so profoundly misunderstand this is itself concerning — and an indictment of civics education in this country.
And the consequences are dangerous.
The erroneous belief that words can ever be tantamount to corporeal harm fuels political violence — the physical kind.
After all, if someone’s offensive speech is actually violence, then rushing on stage and assaulting the speaker is just a form of self-defense.
When we open that Pandora’s Box, liberal democracy as we know it becomes impossible.
Our system only works because people are free to say what they think and hash their differences out in elections.
But if physical attacks can be meted out in response to words, people will be afraid to speak their minds — and real violence will become an increasing reality.
Just consider the horrific assassination attempts targeting former President Donald Trump. Most good-hearted Americans, left and right, correctly saw them as evil, indefensible and completely incompatible with our national values.
If speech can be violence, fringe actors like the would-be assassins can justify their actions simply by citing Trump’s harsh words, falsely painting themselves as protectors of his victims, or as engaging in self-defense.
This toxic thinking could prove disastrous in the coming weeks.
No matter who wins Tuesday’s presidential election, incendiary rhetoric and outlandish claims will surely follow.
Americans should be able to process our heightened post-election emotions through debate and discourse — and, if necessary, litigation.
But not if we give in to this lethal notion that speech and violence are one and the same.
The only way to reverse this troubling trend is to challenge its absurdity at every turn, whether it’s voiced by trans activists complaining about misgendering or progressives trying to stifle protests over illegal immigration.
And we desperately need to restore civics education, both in high school and in college, so that young people understand the fundamental principles the country they’re inheriting was founded upon.
“Free speech isn’t violence,” FIRE president Greg Lukianoff said when the poll results were released. “It’s the best alternative to violence ever invented.”
Americans must turn back to that truth now — before we’re forced to learn, the hard way, what violence actually is.
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.