If Words Are So Powerful

There's a common argument on the pro-censorship side that we opponents of censorship trivialize words—frequently combined with the claim that words are a type of weapon. If words are indeed weapons then wouldn't it make sense to use words to enforce your opinions instead of government?

On the other hand, a censorship proponent might claim that the ideal is to eliminate nasty words entirely. Is it any better to replace them with nasty jail terms or nasty fines? Or do they believe that force has a magical property of getting things done that words don't have? Doesn't that detract from the claim that words are weapons?