There are more things to worry about and report on the news, then somebody saying something. The deluge of comments and stories that filled the papers and airways over a rap song a recent football draftee (Chicago Bears)made during his freshman year at college was unbelievable. The indignation by reporters was unbelievable. One would think his transgression surpassed that of the Virginia Tech incident.
At one time or another each one of us has butchered a joke, or said something inappropriate. Those around us understood it for what it was, a simple mistake, and life went on. A simple apology won't do now, for they will become Super Bowl events, attended by thousands and televised world wide.
Like vultures, in a feeding frenzy,You Tube is visited by millions to feast at someones mistake. Still hungry they turn to the papers and news channels, where news casters and their endless list of experts from every field devour the story to the bone.
Now various ethnic groups have taken common words and declared them for their private use only. At the rate we are going, a new dictionary will have to be printed denoting who may use which words and when.
A new industry will flourish, as word advisers take their place in rank with the thousand and one other advisers that we can't seem to live without these days. And local and federal government officials will burden tax payers, as they create agencies to police word usage.
My God they are only words, not sticks and stones. Ignore them and get over it. We have a right in this country and it is called "free speech" and we are trying to give it away.
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Just a crabby old guy...
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Pelmo
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- Pelmo
- Had a front row seat to the Effects of over consumption of stupid pills as a policeman. Otherwords saw how stupid people can be. The only thing I am trying to do is to get people to try a new concept. It's called thinking.
2 comments:
I always liked the way American Patriots took the derogatory term, "Yankee Doodle," and turned it into a badge of pride. That's the way you handle an insult. Somebody calls you a bastard, and you say, "Yeah, and I'm the baddest bastard on the planet!" To some extent, a lot of the African-American community has done this with the N- word, but not everybody's bought into it...some wear it as a badge of pride, while others call them idiots for being proud of calling themselves that. I suppose the same probably happened with the term "Yankee" -- there were probably colonists telling others they were making themselves look silly calling themselves Yankees.
I'm still torn...I agree that words are sticks and stones, and I also agree that the pen can be mightier than the sword. I think the real power to hurt somebody is in the amount of ingenious hate a person's brain puts behind the stick, stone, or word.
I have to agree with you. One thing I learned on the police dept. was never to kick a person when he is down, verbally or physically. That is why in thirty + years I only had to fight twice.
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