comic for thought

[Inkasep]

so. i'm not as good with explanations and shit as some would lead me to believe, but i do believe people are far too easily upset by words these days. especially when they just happen to witness them, not actually have those words directed at them. then i saw this. http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20140927/ and it pretty much explained my viewpoint on words for the most part.

i believe words should have some power. there is no harm in the word fuck, or ****, or shit. they're very intense words, but sometimes you need to express intense emotions. it doesn't necessarily mean anger or hostility. it could be any passionate feeling you might have. now words that are meant for racism.. those are bad words. they have no alternative definition, no double meaning. they were created because one group of guys didn't like another group of guys, and hated them so bad they added a word to their language just to express that hate. that is not okay, and i get that. but i don't see that on here, which is good, but i still see the offense at words. i think that should change.

.../endrant

 

[Sandisk444]

Tough discussion is tough... I can help but sit on the fence on this one haha...

To play devils advocate, just because you feel there's no harm in the word doesn't mean someone else shouldn't. You don't know how people feel or what their associations to these words are, you can't expect the world to share your perspective.

BUT the word isn't as bad as the intention. I can call someone a "fucking idiot" but with two completely attitudes so it really shouldn't be the word that is the point of focus but the motive behind its usage. If you ban the use of curse words you won't stop the emotions they're used in conjunction with.

I don't think it's a wide-spread sensitivity issue, I think it's a matter of people feeling like they have to stand up against something. That's why the whole "social justice warrior" thing is a problem, I doubt these people really find the things they bitch about all that offensive, they just want to make it an issue so they can feel like they are right and can assert power on someone else by twisting a situation.

 

[Bothersome]

Words are just sounds. A combination of letters and sounds are completely and I mean completely meaningless by themselves.

Tetyutretuck <- To you, this word holds absolutely no meaning whatsoever. It can't be good or bad. It can't be offensive.
To me, it's a profound vulgarity that I wouldn't dare translate.

So yeah. Getting upset over a word is stupid. Focus on the meaning behind the word.

 

[C.A.B.]

Its a societal communication thing. We assign values to words to help express a wide range of emotion and concepts. We purposefully reserve some words for intense meanings or occasion. Words by themselves are nothing more than letters combined. The word **** is proudly contained in the English Alphabet, but is meaningless until it is wielded in context. It is the context and the intent of the user that are interpreted by the recipient - that is where possible offense lies. But the letters and phonetics are nothing.

""She was the worst kind of woman, far beyond being a self-proclaimed 'bitch', she had escalated her reputation to that of a classless, salty '****'!""

""Plucky the blue squirrel met his woodland playmates, Puffy the hedgehog and Fuzzy the pink rabbit, down in Dingly Dell. There they would play and hunt for yummy mint leaves **** berries until mother called them home.""

It is we that assign meaning to words. Not the other way around. They will even stick in our craw when misused....

""Dear Mr. Wellington. Our young daughter, Melissa would have died if it were not for your amazing donation of a kidney. Words cannot express how much my husband and I, and our whole family, are grateful for you for this gift of life. All we can do is try to thank you from the bottom of our hearts that now we can watch our daughter live and grow. So precious a gift you have selflessly given. We think you are a real asshole sent by God. Bless you, Sir.""

 

[chicago]

Yeah, I am not sure it's the words that people get upset about, necessarily, at least for the most part, but rather the intent / message / meaning behind those words.