Why is word bad?

Answer 1

Words are not bad, the thoughts associated with them can be bad.

Many racial slurs are used by members of that race as community identifiers and are acceptable to them, but when someone outside the group uses the word people get offended.

Most name calling is silly. "Gay" was a compliment for many, many years. Now it refers to a sexual preference and is a common insult (huh?). "Fag" is slag for a cigarette in other countries, but again we have assigned it the power to be an insult.

There is also the concept of 'political correctness' which is the idea that we can't be honest in our language because it might offend someone. One example is the use of 'undocumented workers' to describe people who have committed a crime and illegally entered Another Country. For some reason, 'illegal' or 'illegal alien' (both of which are exactly accurate) are seen as harsh and pejorative.

Lastly are cuss words. Think about the cuss words that you know, and you may realize that the words themselves are meaningless sounds and hold only the meaning and power your mind gives to them.

Answer 2

A word isn't really bad itself, but the meaning to most people can be either hurtful or disrespectful: Or both. Words aren't necessarily bad, they're considered bad or mean...