Opinions and Charged Words
My daughter came into my room and told me that she is working supper hard to clean up her bedroom! She shares a room with her sister, whom also informed me that she was cleaning supper hard as well. Unfortunately, the both felt as though the other sister was not working nearly as hard as they, themselves, were working. You see, my older daughter was cleaning up all of the items that had been scattered all over the floor while her little sister was just working on the dirty laundry. However; her little sister came and told me that she has been working on gathering all of the clothes that had been scattered all over the floor, including her sisters’ towel! Her big sister on the other hand had only been picking up little things off the floor!
They have both twisted the story to be favorable to themselves while condemning the other to the gallows to be hung. Birk and Birk in their essay Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language have given this act a term called “slanting of facts”. This is done quite often in many different situations. The use of “charged words” is something much like slanting but can be of a more manipulative tool in the process of writing.
Just as I used my children to provide the example of slanting of the facts I will use another example from the same two girls that used previously. This is the way each one would recount and describe their experience at Chuck E Cheese.
Emma: Nana! You are never going to believe who we saw! Chuck E Cheese was there! He is so cute! He had a cute little hat on that matched his vest and was so nice to all the kids! He walked through the play-place and was dropping free tokens all over the floor!
Whitney: Oh Nana! I was awful! This horrible mouse came through the play-place! He was wearing an evil top hat and shirt that made him look like a wicked magician! As he walked through the play-place, he threw stuff at the kids they were trying to play!
Believe it or not this is the account of each girl’s point of view. Please not that the facts are the same, it is the use of what these “charged words” that leave us with a very clear account of how each child felt during the experience. Charged words are used anytime feelings, attitudes, judgments and values are being expressed. These charged words lead us in a very different direction from each other.
We feel the way each child felt during their experience, without them. It is the difference between listening to someone read the dictionary or encyclopedia. There are no attitudes or emotions expressed in these forms of communication. Could you imagine a day without expressing information with any imprint of how you felt one way or the other? No slanting, everything neutral facts. This is what Birk and Birk may have been referring to when they stated that without charged language, life would be but half life.
I use to "slant the facts" all the time when my brother and me shared a room, actually to be honest I still do this just on a smaller scale. I always wondered why my parents didn't take my side, well it's because my brother was giving them the same story that I was. We all use charged words, this helps us to explain our situation and help the person to see our point of view. It's funny how your two girls saw the same exact thing, just in totally different perspectives, and they used those charged words to explain how much they loved or hated the situation, how great or dreadful it was. They weren't lying; they were just exaggerating a bit. It’s funny to reflect back on some conversations we had throughout the day and dissect to see what which of these we used, and the truth is we use them both. Otherwise like you explained it would just be boring, everything we did or experienced would be very uneventful. Could you imagine coming home after a long day filled with exciting experiences and just explaining them only using the bare facts and nothing more, I can’t imagine anything much worse?
ReplyDeleteCould you imagine a day without expressing information with any imprint of how you felt one way or the other?
ReplyDeleteI defiantly could not fathom a world without expression! I liked the example you gave, it brought a smile and a chuckle out of me. I have little ones that share a room so I know to well the stories between the path from their room to where ever I may be in the house out emerges two different stories. The problem I have with slanting is what tale are you going to believe? What are really the facts and what is fiction? It is difficult to evaluate fact at times. For example reading on propositions, the writers for these are very crafty. At times I just want to write them and say, “For heaven’s sake just give me the facts!” How hard would that be? However in certain other aspects if we did not have “charged words” then the world would be a dull place. I’m reminded of that black and white movie, Pleasantville that is how things would be without charged words. I truly appreciated reading your blog. Happy Charging!