Skip to main content

YOU MIGHT JUST BE A MURDERER!

To murder implies taking someone's life, albeit advertently, at least to a layman's understanding. We are always quick to berate armed robbers, kidnappers and other 'men of the underworld', not forgetting those who kill with 'remote control'(you know what I mean). To many,  these are the dreaded groups of persons to be avoided like a plague and kept at an arm's length. Looking inwards however, we might just have killed or are killing someone unknowingly. How?

Killing is not just carried out using firearms or any other physical forms to snuff out life out of someone. Our reaction to situations as well as the choice of words in displaying our emotions can tantamount to murder. Killing one's spirit in the form of our choice of words as well as actions can be graded in the same for as exterminating one's life! When you are dead in spirit, you have nothing to live for again.

Using someone's disability (whether physical or otherwise) or the person's achilles heel to derogate the person is a terrible act. Do you need to constantly remind a physically challenged person of his/her condition before you drive home a point? Or a childless woman about her inability to bear a child? In trying to correct a child, does a parent or teacher need to dress down such a child, or remind/reiterate the child's academic or social inadequacies before that child?

It amazes me when I see two supposedly mature adults exchanging hot and vulgar words over an issue that could be handled maturely, each trying to out-do the other in such unnecessary madness. There is power in words, and words said can never be withdrawn. You may retract a statement, but it's for formality sake, because the damage had been done. Just as nice words soothes the mind, vulgarity destroys same. Is it not surprising that many people would prefer been chastised to been scolded.

When I hear parents use derogatory words on their children, I shudder. Must you use words like 'goat', 'idiot, etc on your children to correct them? If you call your children 'goats,' I wonder what you are. No one says you should not scold your children, but decorum should be employed. Negative words would end up destroying the child further.
Verbal assault may be forgiven but not forgotten. Do not allow your temperament to lead you to vulgarity.

You may not appreciate the dangers of gossip, until you become a victim of it. Bearing false witness against someone is same as having killed the person. You have succeeded in portraying the person in negative terms, and it will take a miracle to undo the damage.

Be wary of what you say, or do. Eschew vulgarity no matter how provoked you are. Carelessness in speaking is not a sign of maturity and responsibility. In whatever you do, have the Golden Rule at the back of your mind.

Chukwudi Anagbogu
08063305177


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Grandma series 1 (Chukwudi Anagbogu)

 I was among the few privileged ones to have lived with my grandmother during my childhood. My grandma had visited us for the “omugwo” of my younger sibling. At the ‘expiration` of three months, she had opted to stay longer because as she would always say, “anywhere one stays is one's home.”  My siblings and I received news of her “extension” with mixed feelings. Our concerns were borne out of her strictness. She was so strict that sometimes you wondered how my mother-her daughter survived childhood under her watch. It was during her stay that my immediate elder brother and I stopped bedwetting. Hitherto, my parents had employed all manner of tactics to stop us from betwetting, all to to avail. First, my mum had tried reducing our water intake, especially at nights. According to her, not taking enough water would reduce the urge to urinate at night. The strategy seemed to work initially, as we did not bed wet for three consecutive days. On the fourth day however, the unthinkable ha
Post a Comment
Read more

My Classmates (story one)

  Emeka was not just my friend, he was a friend to all. He was particularly handsome and had an aura of importance. That alone made me admire him. In my class, he was ‘worshipped’ and highly revered. Even some teachers openly gave him preferential treatment. First, our form teacher had assigned him to the front row in the class, but Emeka himself preferred to sit at the far end of the rear. Of course, he had his way. Emeka was the only student in class who had the freedom to eat in class whenever he felt the desire to do so. I was surprised when mid-way into a maths class, he opened his big food flask and began feasting from it. Everyone expected the Maths teacher, who was a renowned disciplinarian, to have reacted. Lo and behold, the Maths teacher feigned ignorance despite the fact that the aroma from the food was so obvious that a passerby would have mistaken our classroom for a kitchen. Chike, another classmate of mine had attempted to do a similar thing few days earlier. The same
Post a Comment
Read more

LIFE CHANGER: CHAPTERS 7-9 (Q and A)

 Questions And Answers On The Life Changer  Chapter 7 How much did Dr Kabir demand from Salma? Dr. Kibir demanded a bribe of two hundred thousand naira from Salma but she declined his request and said she didn’t have that amount. How did Habib assist Salma? Habib gave Salma the money she needed to bribe the Chairman of the Exams Malpractice and Ethics Committee. How did Salma plan to save herself from getting expelled? Salma suggested Habib should help her speak with the Chairman of the Exams Malpractice and Ethics Committee. Why was Salma shocked when she finally presented herself to the committee for questioning? Salma was surprised when she noticed that Dr. Kabir was not a member of the Exams Malpractice and Ethics Committee. Why did Salma reject Habib’s suggestion of seeking help from Proffessor Dabo? Salma rejected Habib’s suggestion because she previously had issues with Professor Dabo. Why did Salma visit Habib in his office? Salma visited Habib at his office hoping he would be
Post a Comment
Read more