The impact of body language

This link came up on my facebook feed just now and I had to share. Not only because I love these two-minute faith-in-humanity videos, but because it reminded me of the section on staring we did in class earlier this semester. Staring and body language are the two silent ways we express ourselves. This video reflects how in the time span of ten minutes the body language of two complete strangers can go from awkward to reflecting and expressing true intimacy. It illustrates that even the briefest of moments can ignite a deeper emotional response. Now, I'm sure the same can happen in a negative light. The briefest of moments can ignite a negative response, which I believe connects to our conversation on disabilities and society's definition of "normal." Even the quickest down-grading glance is an unspoken insult. The one who gives the stare or the harsh body language is only re-enforcing societal stigmas. We need to watch not only what comes directly out of our mouths, but also the words which we do not speak through our eyes, arms, and bodies. There's the childhood phrase "sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me!" Well, in my experience I find the unspoken words of body language and the emptiness of silence to be more painful than any utterance.