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Also, don't forget that there is no objective criterion for beauty - it is a judgment call. Therefore it is also mediated by language. Even if you correctly see that changing words does not on its own change the world, you are shooting past the target in denying that they have any unique power.
Yeah, and that's trying to make it sound good. It doesn't change the scar. They want you to trick yourself into thinking is is pretty and nice and sweet and, probably, meaningful.
> they carry memories
No, they don't. They may remind you of something.
> something thus far hidden
How was it hidden?
> Therefore it is also mediated by language
No, it isn't. Beauty is a word expression a sensation. The language doesn't mediate the sensation.
> [words] they have any unique power
As I wrote. So you're the straw person? Anyway, the assumption that you should be able to trick yourself into thinking something is beautiful is just as valid as the assumption that it will change the power of the word for you. The euphemism carousel is a vivid example of that.
It's positivity for the heck of it, to get clicks. In internet parlance, it's gas-lighting yourself.
No. It's about directing your attention at the memories that, as you correctly say, scars may remind you of, and appreciating this. This perspective was hidden insofar as beauty standards reduced scars to the physical appearance, turning a blind eye to their signifying properties.
> Beauty is a word expression a sensation.
Interesting take. Is beauty the sensation or that which is being perceived? Are you meaning to say that the same tentatively beautiful things always illicit the same 'sensation' type in all people? What about the different kinds of aethetic experiences (such as the experience that viewing my scar might ellicit when it wakes good memories)? And what about cultural differences in what is perceived as beautiful?
> that you should be able to trick yourself into thinking something is beautiful is just as valid as the assumption that it will change the power of the word for you
Again, it's not about changing the word or tricking yourself. It is about directing attention and disclosing a new perspective on things. It's not black-and-white beautiful or ugly - it also depends on the context you are assesing this with. If there is a 6 on the floor and one person is standing on the top end while another is standing at the bottom end, one will say its a 6, the other will say its a 9. Who are you to decide that one of them is wrong? However, if someone claimed that its a spaceship, they are clearly wrong. Noone is claiming that you can do anything if you just use different words. Thats your straw people. What is hindering you from accepting the existance of multiple perspectives/points of view?
> It's positivity for the heck of it, to get clicks. In internet parlance, it's gas-lighting yourself.
You might have a point here. Some positivity is really shallow and performative. Whether that applies here I don't know. But even if so, they still make a valid point about the beauty of scars (from a symbol perspective).
No, just that we have managed to learn to apply the word "beauty" to things that cause a similar mental state, just like we learnt to label things "red" or "acid".
> What is hindering you from accepting the existance of multiple perspectives/points of view?
Reality? Our "brain" adapts itself continuously. But it goes either way. It gets desensitized when overstimulated. When using the label "X" for "Y", that didn't carry that label before, you assume that "Y" now gets part of its perceived values from "X". But associations of "X" are equally at risk to take over part of the anterior values of "Y". If you call too many things beautiful, it starts losing its meaning, and possibly numb you to the experience as a consequence. And if the original association of "Y" is visceral enough, chances are that you cannot overrule it, and that the reverse will happen.
Instead of faking smiles in order to pretend happiness, it's better to learn to accept things for what they are, warts and all.
I think the elephant in the room here is the reaction of other people to scars, especially so big and visible. Calling your scar beautiful and making that known is a passive-aggressive, pro-active move to avoid judgement through suppressing socially unacceptable behavior.