V for Vitriol

I have learned the meaning of a new word (to me)—vitriol.  Webster’s New World College Dictionary has the following definition: n. something resembling acid in being caustic, corrosive, or biting.

Now that is a strong word to throw around!  And I have very mixed feelings about “vitriol” because of where I first was exposed to it.  I first encountered the word being used on social media and in commentaries on the 2016 presidential election.  Not familiar with the word, I have looked it up in numerous dictionaries, online, etc.  The definitions are always the same—“…caustic, corrosive, biting…”  Personally, I feel this word should be confined to the chemistry lab.  After all, it has to do with acid, doesn’t it?  But its usage was in reference to humans when I first learned of it.  And I had to wonder…

Can human beings be “caustic, corrosive, or biting”?  It’s pretty obvious that they can.  I worry about this.  Especially since I heard the word first about people campaigning to be the leader of our nation.  As I said before, that word is strong to me.  I would surely stay away from any element with that definition!  And yet, when applied to a human being, I find myself wavering—can people be caustic, corrosive, biting?  I guess they can in all fairness.

I pride myself on trying to see things I come up against with an open mind, weighing everything involved, trying not to judge or be biased.  I want to know what is behind behaviors, actions, ideas and philosophies.  I detest stereotyping and labeling.  People are individuals, unique, and not robots that can be categorized and boxed into a race, a gender, etc.  If this were not so, I would not have the freedom to write this blog and ponder these things even now.

And so I ask—what has happened?  How did this word get thrown around?  Why are things happening as they do right now?  The word vitriol is becoming a common word now.  It is used as an adjective to describe a noun—not the noun itself.

I am disturbed in every sense by this word being used to describe humans.  I feel anxious.  I feel ignorant in that I cannot grasp the enormity of this word in application to my fellow human.  Maybe I am stupid?  Maybe my brain has gone on vacation?  No, my brain is still there, but my heart seems to be ready to crack and possibly surrender to what it cannot fathom.

Vitriol—a truly painful word, both literally and figuratively.  A disturbing word.  A strong word.  And in my truth?  One I wish I had never learned outside the chemistry lab.