How often do you curse? And not 'eye of newt, spleen of toad', but those outed by George Carlin.
I seldom think about my cursing, unless there are children around, but expletives aren't something that make up my daily vocabulary. Even my internal dialogues tend towards more flowery and arcane descriptors. I picked up 'buggerit' from Terry Pratchett DiscWorld novels and find that it covers most situations rather well, from the frustrating to the painful.
But for some reason, the past few days I'm seeing more swearing online. And in contexts where it doesn't make that much sense. On a story about a pedophile, the number of WTF's reflected a confounding, painful crime that most people can't comprehend since protecting children is built in to our biology. But a post on chocolate? Economic theory? The upcoming football event? Do they really warrant the f-bomb?
I'd encourage people to reach outside the four letter window and find more graphic and descriptive means of describing things. Yes, I get the visceral appeal of calling someone a fucktard, but isn't 'puerile troglodyte' more satisfying to roll off the tongue? Those few fragrant syllables will leave an opponent unsure he's been insulted, floundering for something more witty than 'huh' as a response. That is well worth the effort!
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