Word of Power Learned: Faggot

      I realize that the above reference might fall on deaf ears so before I get into this I have to explain myself. The reference is to the game Skyrim and this is the message that pops up when the character gains a new "Word of Power" from a dragon. Words of power are abilities that help the main character in combat, with effects such as freezing time or launching enemies away from them. In this context, however, I want to relate this phrase to an question that doesn't yet, and may not soon, have a clear answer. The question at hand being 'do words have power?' I think David Sedaris would probably respond in the affirmative in his work "I Like Guys" because of his experience with the word 'faggot.' At multiple points throughout the narrative Sedaris finds himself tickled by the words use, or, at least, that's what he knows you are supposed to do when that word is said. There is a scene in the narrative in which Sedaris finds himself at a Greek summer camp with counselors that throw the word around with a clear disregard for its meaning with phrases like "What are you, a bunch of goddamned faggots who can't make your beds?" Sedaris and another character, Jason both laugh and even start using the word together as part of their shenanigans "when the others weren't looking." They use the word in a purely mocking way but Sedaris acknowledges the fact that "We couldn't protest the word, as that would have meant acknowledging the truth." As if protesting the word bestows power on the word and that to throw the word around keeps it from meaning anything or gaining any personal value.
      This brings up an interesting point about the argument of words as powerful versus words as subjective. Today, there is a lot of talk about political correctness and I think the argument has started to lean toward the side of words as powerful. This movement, however, has met its fair share of resistance as there are, probably, an equal number of people who believe the old adage "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Could this be true? As I stated previously there is no clear answer to this question. In favor of the words as powerful argument, there are many contexts in which words have very explicit and direct power over a person. Most notably in the courtroom, where, when used by the appropriate person at the appropriate time, 'sentence' carries much more than a denotation. Now that word holds debt, future time, relationships, and lives in the balance. Is this the case for 'faggot' though? One cannot say, some might say that its real and it hurts, while others would say "my rights don't end where your feelings begin." As for David Sedaris, I think the argument is made very clearly that, to some, a word is much more than a word. A word is power, and if sociology is right that power is 'the ability to make binding decisions for yourself or others,' than we know that words carries much more than a meaning.