The tongue is an unruly evil

A LOT has been said about minimising violence – wife-beating, rape, child abuse, police brutality and ethnic clashes – to name a few.
The bullying that goes on at schools and homes are also forms of violence but not many talks about that.
Many think of violence in the form of bloodied bodies, black eyes, bruised faces, torn clothes, broken furniture or smashed ceramics.
But there is a face of violence that people do not talk about, the face that we must remove first to minimise violence in the home, schools, workplace, market place, etc.
It is the words that we use.
Generally, violence can be seen by the sort of words and attitude that a person has.
When we use bad words and curse, we are violent.
When a mother or father is angry and says to a child: “Bai mi kilim yu (I will kill you)”, that parent is as guilty as a parent who horse-whips a child without restraint or control.
Teaching people/children at home, school, workplace or villages to mind the words they use is a good place to start in our quest to stop violence.
Some people are not physically violent but they have bad mouths.
And what comes out of their mouths can incite physical violence, a thing that is easily noticed.
Parents must teach their children to be careful with their choice of words and also the tone of their speech.
Teachers must also do the same.
People in the same house or villages must follow a set of rules that includes discouraging the use of bad language.
The rap songs that are played by radio stations do not help us in our fight against violence.
Can detect the violence in them?
If we are smart, we can control the way we think and react to situations 
and teach others to do the same.
That is the best.
But first we must start with the words.
The book of James in the Bible tells us: “… the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison …”
 
PNG Tauna
Port Moresby