The Fragility of Words

I know it's a little random that I've decided to post here again after being away for 2+ months (TLDR: I had a lot of personal and freelance stuff going on, so I didn't really find the time to be able to process photos and write about things), but there was something that happened today that caused me to reflect a little. It was the most subtlest of things, but still worth thinking about.

For a little background context, the topic of people not flushing the toilet after they use the washroom in a public space came up between a cubicle mate and I.

"Not flushing the toilet is barbaric."

Now, before it's assumed that I got butthurt about this comment or anything, no, it didn't affect me personally, but it just became a little important reminder of one's choice of words. Here's the thing. For the most part, most people would find the idea of not flushing the toilet repulsive. Heck, I do too, just because I'm quite sensitive to smell and anything pungent would get me running out the door. But then there are those individuals that may be more environmentally conscious (or whatever other reasoning that they may have) and try to preserve water or energy by not flushing constantly. Is that really barbaric then? I think it all depends on context, and sometimes the choice of words that some people use don't really accommodate that.

Some words are a bit too strong; have too much of a negative or positive connotation. It's no wonder that the English language has a massive variety of words, possibly in hopes of covering the broad range of spectrum in articulation. While the act of articulation is one matter, the individual that chooses a particular method of articulation is entirely another matter.

It's funny, usually we don't really think about how powerful words can be and how much impact they can cause. Sometimes I forget that too. We're all guilty of that.