Welcome to Alphabet Adventures a journey through the dictionary Episode 8.
If you didn't catch the first episode you can find it here basically it tells you what I am doing and why.

I have decided that the following quote will be a permanent fixture as I feel really captures the power of language.

“If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them”

Today's Adventure

Abuse is wrong, I don't argue that at all, however, we live in a hypersensitive world these days, with what seems like every man and his dog ready to feel abused, or offended, heck there are people out there that consider it an act of violence if you call them what they appear to be rather than how they feel they are in their head.

So I thought I would have a look at one of those words and see what I can learn unfortunately the word violence won't come up in the dictionary for a while yet.

Abuse

v.t 1. to use wrongly or improperly.
2. to do wrong to: injure
3. to speak insultingly to
4. to inflict a sexual act on a person, especially one hows relationship or proximity makes them vulnerable.
5. consumption or use of something specified to an excessive degree or in an inappropriate manner
6. insulting or violent language
7. sexual violation, as rape or sexual assault, especially of a child.

Etymology.

More Latin, having its roots as ab meaning away from and uti use, pretty straightforward we are talking about using something in a manner inappropriate to it's intended purpose when I was looking at its origin and definitions I struggled to figure out how to fit those definitions within its root words particularly when it comes to language.

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Reflection of a positive outlook.

Language is strange, some words can have a hidden philosophy, it's pretty easy for people to grasp antonyms, you know to love vs hate, happy vs sad, its all pretty straightforward one of the most fitting antonyms I could find for abuse was respect it comes close but doesn't quite capture what I find in the word abuse.

When abuse talks of "away from use" it speaks of the true purpose of a thing, and that to subvert that thing from its purpose is a wrong, let's take that concept and look at some of those definitions.

Where is the Abuse.

Language.

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Before I get too far into this one let me be clear I believe that free speech is the most vital aspect of culture and should be protected at all cost that includes unpopular opinions, and while I don't agree with then I believe that others are within their right to express even the most bigotted, belligerent, racist, misogynistic, and hateful thoughts.

When we look at those two definitions Speak insultingly to, Insulting or violent language we could think of such things as abuse of a person but if we consider my suggestion earlier relating to "purpose" we could see that it's really abuse of language, that language at its core is a positive tool whose purpose was to build, and raise up those that share it, to make bridges between two minds, and that when we misuse it in the manner above we subvert it from that purpose, we tear down what should be built up, and flick matches at those bridges.

Power and Strength

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Obviously, when we look at those other definitions it's important to tread carefully, I have no intention to make lite of anything others may have suffered.

If we and apply my purpose concept those other definitions, to do wrong to: injure, to inflict a sexual act on a person, especially one hows relationship or proximity makes them vulnerable. , sexual violation, as rape or sexual assault, especially of a child. and apply my purpose concept we find that the abuse multiplies, these acts require that someone abuses either their strength, power, trust or perhaps all three.

Every one of these have a true and positive purpose, its by the strength of our arms that we have carved out a niche on this planet, and its by trust alone that you step out your door each day, and its by power and trust together that we can both lead and be lead to great things, clearly the abuse of these attributes is a great wrong.

People

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You might have been wondering by now why I haven't talked about the human impact of abuse yet, and the truth is I was trying to figure out how we fit in my assessment of the word abuse but I think I got there in the end.

People like all things have purpose, ok, so the truth is we have many, it's weirdly difficult to look at someone and see what that purpose is yet stupidly easy to treat them in a manner that can destroy their ability to fulfill their purpose, as we established using something in a manner counter to its purpose is abuse, surely destroying somethings fitness for a purpose is abuse of the worst kind.

When people are abused in this manner there is no doubt of the damage caused to them but we steal the value of their purpose from the community, the good news is that for the most part humans are incredibly adaptable and resilient and more over our purpose can shift and grow.

People are a little like the door above, the glass having been damaged may no longer fit its purpose but there is no reason to chuck the door.

Self Abuse.

Ha, no I'm not using that phrase in that religious style condemning your private time, I'm talking about the abuse we deal ourselves some do it through substance abuse consumption or use of something specified to an excessive degree or in an inappropriate manner losing their path and direction to their purpose.

Self-abuse, those things that take us away from our purpose can be truly insidious it could be those things you tell yourself that stop you from pursuing your purpose, or letting yourself fall into some rut of a job and never doing what you really want or chasing some dream manufactured for you by advertising agencies but the root cause for self-abuse is just not taking a moment to stop, breath and ask yourself what your purpose is.

Thats it for this adventure I was going to examin using the Steem Blue Paper what behaviors exactly qualified as abuse but I have run out of time and will have to have to write it up some other time.

You can check out some of the other Alphabet Adventures here.

Aardvark,Abandon,Ability,Aberrant,Abet,Abound,Absolve,Absorb,Academic,

Kind regards

Peter

My Wife is also a great Steemian worth a follow check out her most recent posts here.
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