Actions speak louder than words (but words can also get you into a lot of trouble)

If I wasn't on a student budget, I'd bet a rather large amount in saying that there are a plenty more ways in which you can have a rant about something that really bothers you now than when our parents were young. Yes, the majority of us believe in the right to free speech but it goes without saying that there's always going to be someone who doesn't like what you've got to say.

So let's start with one of today's controversial statements then: 'Paedophilia is an illness'. This remark was made by the Archbishop of Durban on BBC Radio 5 live this morning (listen to his remarks live here - Paedophilia is an illness) and, of course, everyone has something to say about it. You may beg to differ. Personally, I'm not going to pass judgement as that's not my intention. Instead what I want to stress is how powerful a choice of words, a passing comment or a controversial tweet can be. 

Earlier, I overheard someone ask to be referred to as 'partially-sighted' rather than 'partially-blind'. Despite being a regular at Vision Express myself, I suppose I've never really considered how someone might refer to the fact that I have less than 20:20 vision. Yet to this particular individual, the description about a personal characteristic mattered. It's something that I would say is important for all of us to note because it's easy to (unintentionally) offend others. It's certainly something that I can empathise with. Sometimes it's the things that might seem insignificant to one individual that might mean a lot to another. Trivial to you, a big deal to me. 

(If you don't like anecdotes stop reading now.) 

I remember going to A&E once and the receptionist showing me a piece of paper with a list of various ethnic categories and asking me to choose which one I would describe myself as. Part of me wondered how she would've reacted if I'd picked one which was clearly untrue. I'm guessing she wouldn't have found it particularly funny. Is society becoming more sensitive to the feelings of others? Well it's either that, or we Brits pride ourselves on being particularly politically correct. 

(Source: www.cartoonstock.com)