I tend to use the analogy of a knife a lot, whether in writing or in conversation. I refer to some things as “stabbing” or “cutting” someone, and I sometimes say things like,
it would help if you put the knife down
and
if you’re trying to give me a helping hand, it would help if there wasn’t a knife in it.
Perhaps it’s a reflection of the knife-related crime that plagued the news in recent times, and people screaming “shank shank shank” on music tracks – particularly when I was still living near one of the most notorious (and probably mythical) crime hotspots. I found it intriguing that murderers had turned to stabbing and cutting people, rather than other creative forms of killing such as shooting or poisoning.
When it comes to interactions between people, I often compare actions and words to knives. I remember writing somewhere on DREWspective that one can tell what kind of person someone is, simply by what they choose to do with a knife found in someone’s back. Either they ignore the person completely, pull the knife out, or plunge it in further. Similarly, a knife can be used to set someone free from bondage, or to torture them.
If you think about what happens when someone stabs another person, it’s an entirely conscious and deliberate process.
Let’s examine it for a second…
- Someone decides to pick up or carry a knife, with the intention of harming someone.
- They choose the person they’re going to harm.
- They take the knife in their hand.
- They ready the knife for an attack.
- They swing or thrust the knife.
- The knife goes into the other person’s body.
- The person may decide to stab or cut the other person repeatedly.
There is nothing involuntary at any of these stages: the person with the knife could potentially stop themselves at any time, but the decision to continue is their choice.
I’m tempted to say that there’s no such thing as an accidental stabbing. Unlike having a gun or a vial full of some potent drug, there’s no way of “accidentally” killing someone with a knife. A gun can go off in the wrong hands or in a struggle, or someone can eat the wrong plate of food. For a knife to kill someone, it has to be aimed and used. There always has to be some kind of conscious action behind it.
Like physically stabbing someone, the malicious use of words are intended to cause a lot of damage. Stabbing someone isn’t just a conscious action, it’s a deliberate one – intended to cause irreparable damage and trauma. It’s not uncommon to have punctured lungs, damaged kidneys and other ruptured organs as a result of a stabbing. But if someone doesn’t die from a stab wound, they’d be left with a very deep cut as well as a nasty scar, not to mention emotional problems.
At the same time, that same knife can be used for more positive purposes. Just as a knife is used to chop up vegetables and prepare other ingredients, words can be used to break things down and make them more “edible”. They can be used to resolve a particular situation, similar to cutting those proverbial bondage ropes and releasing a hostage. And just as a craft knife can turn bits of paper and card into a work of art, or sheets of polystyrene into some kind of sculpture, words can be used to turn limited resources into something useful.
As with real knives, sometimes the best thing you can do with your words is to put them away.
Tags: Analogy, Helping Hand, Intention, Knives, Murderers, Reflection, Stab, Swing