The counterpoint of believing that the pen is mightier than the sword is the fact that, while sticks and stones may break my bones, words sent thousands to the

The counterpoint of believing that the pen is mightier than the sword is the fact that, while sticks and stones may break my bones, words sent thousands to the death camps. If you choose not to react to language then I can make you look weak or evil or whatever in front of those who do, and by the time I decide to make things physical you'll have no-one ready to help you. That's the lesson of the school yard. The lesson of the world beyond the school yard, as above, is even more brutal. Edit: Point being that being verbally attacked scares and upsets me/many others, and it seems to me that's a perfectly reasonable response to have.