Words are funny things. When you look at them remotely, they are merely a string of sounds which stand for concepts we wish to communicate. However, people have always had a feeling that words hold some kind of mystical, magical power. Ancient people truly believed saying certain words with intensity could curse someone and cause them harm. Likewise, saying a kind word would confer a blessing upon someone, giving them good luck, health, etc. Saying "Gesundheit" to someone who has sneezed gives them good health and saying "God Bless You" after the sneeze helps the person recover from a wives-tale-potentially lethal situation.
I've already posted about how Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) holds the concept that the utterance of words have power, especially the name of God.
If you think about it, it's actually pretty strange our television and radio networks ban certain sounds so that children and sensitive adults won't hear them. The F-word for instance, which of course is just the sound of the teeth on the bottom lip, some vocalization and some push of air. However, as a society we believe this word has too much power, even though the actual concept behind the word (to fornicate) is lost in most of its uses.
Think about someone from a foreign country who has never heard that word before, nor understands its connotations. To this person the word is merely a string of short sounds. Imagine their surprise when people cover their ears, cover their mouths and and cover their children's ears in horror when the sounds have been uttered. It's really an odd idea, isn't it?
Words do have power though. They may not have mystical, magical properties like the Ancient's believed, or that extremely religious or spiritual people still believe, but they definitely have some power. While the F-word has lost a lot of its power due to overuse in our society, it still holds some shock value. HBO and Showtime series for instance make sure to throw in an F-bomb here and there to make sure you know that you're not watching regular television. Then there's the C-word. Now that word still has a lot of power for me and a large segment of the population.
The beleaguered N-word. I still cringe whenever I hear it, and I never, ever think the word, as if it could maybe poison my mind. Hate speech is where words definitely hold power. We were all probably taught as children the old maxim: "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me", yet we all know its not true. If enough people use hateful words to belittle and bully someone it can have dangerous affects. If we allow people free reign to use certain words in a derogatory way, then other derogatory actions become "allowed". For instance, get enough people to use the pejorative forms for gay people and an increase of violence occurs with the perpetrators believing the violence is somehow acceptable. Get enough of the population to discriminate and use foul words to describe Jews, Serbs, or Sufis and very soon you have a population "okay" with genocide.
Right now our government is conducting hearings about radical Islam. After 9/11 most of Americans are okay with denigrating Muslims. Words like Sharia, Hijab, and Mosque have a negative connotation in many Americans' minds, regardless of their true meaning. Cities, counties, and states are hurriedly enacting new laws to "protect" the citizenry from "Sharia law".
Sometimes we can 'take a word back'. For instance, the N-word has been re-appropriated by the younger generation in the Black community. It's still not alright for anyone other than Black people to use it; the meaning can suddenly change when a Caucasian utters the word. The word 'gay' started being used by kids to mean 'detestable' or 'stupid'. Although this still gives the word a negative connotation, most of these kids don't associate this use of the word with homosexuals. In a sense, they're rendering the word a bit powerless by giving it another use.
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