Can Words Lose their Power?

 Phil Kaye's Date & Time presents the audience with a myriad of different important themes - one of which being the power words hold. With this being said, while I believe this aforementioned theme was greatly exemplified throughout the text, I found it to be extremely relevant in the Ted Talk that was presented during yesterday's class. In saying this, throughout the Ted Talk, Kaye explained that as a word is repeated a multitude of times, it may be understood as that which may have lost its effects over another. While this theme is rather influential in the text, I found it to be a lesson that could be best applied to everyday life, especially in regard to what has been occurring over the past few months. 

In furthering this aforementioned argument, in Kaye's poem entitled "Repetition" he states, "Homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework, homework see, nothing our existence, she said, is the same way" (Kaye). In saying this, Kaye highlights the fact that oftentimes the power words hold gradually lose their affect as time goes on - thus causing individuals to, at times, not understand the importance or meaning behind the words in which they are using to convey their message to another. 

When reading this text, in comparison to the Ted Talk, I found myself continually thinking about the Black Lives Matter Movement. With this being said, oftentimes individuals belittle the oppression of Black lives - typically by the way in which they use their words and attempt to convey their message by using words that hold a meaning that he or she may not be wholly aware of. In saying this, individuals often make racist claims without even realizing by using words or phrases that have been 'normalized' in the eyes of some - thus leaving these individuals virtually clueless of the vicious power that their words have. 

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