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4play See other 4play Articles Title: Letter-Wording Letter-Wording In the last few years our society has evolved an ingenious method of handling offensive words -- instead of using the word itself, the first letter of the word is combined with the expression '-word' to represent the word not spoken. This is ingenious for avoiding the actual word, but disingenuous in the sense that the concept which the forbidden word represents is still being expressed, which means that what is really being avoided is just the SYMBOL, and not the thing that supposedly is offensive. Furthermore, it raises the possibility that the new symbol which is now being used to replace the old (offensive) symbol will become thru association just as offensive as the old symbol, thereby turning the entire operation of letter-wording into what is at best a stopgap solution. To explain things more clearly, let us take what is supposedly the most offensive word in the English language, namely, 'nigger', which is now letter-worded as 'the N-word'. Now the first thing to note is that references to the negro race, of which 'nigger' is one of the oldest, have a long history of what we may call EUPHEMISTRY, ie, a change of symbol in order to soften what is regarded as a harsh expression. Thus the original name for a negro was -- Surprise! -- 'negro', from the Spanish word of the same spelling meaning 'black', but a word which was slurred by those speaking with a Southern accent (which slurs everything equally without regard to race, religion, gender, handicap or redolence) into 'nigger'. This was not a problem for negroes until just a few years ago, however -- after all, the negro slurred everything the white man slurred, and usually with a lot more panache -- it has only been a problem since modern Jewish carpetbaggers with law offices in New Yawk convinced negro 'leaders' that Southern whites ought to stop slurring and start giving respect to the negro by calling him by a different name. At first, this name was just 'negro', but that didn't strike the carpetbaggers as sufficiently respectful, conjuring up as it did visions of farm laborers singing negro spirituals and taking detours into the watermelon patch, not always for watermelons. So the next name was 'darkies', and then 'coloreds', the latter of which lasted until the 50s. But then the race issue began to heat up, first with the equalitarian-like 'blacks', then with 'Afro-Americans', and finally today, 'African-Americans' -- a necessary step since those carpetbagger lawyers did not wish to have their darkling darlings confused with their haircuts, which have gone out of style anyway, what with heat-efficient lower ceilings and all. Now the point of this little history lesson is that the constant change of name in the negro sandbox was an attempt not only to make whites kiss black -- and hence Jewish -- ass, but also to help blacks run away from the unpleasant associations which their successive names have acquired. The logic here is that everybody hates niggers, including niggers themselves, but a new name is sort of like a new paint job -- it make things look ok, even if they aren't. That is, it papers things over for awhile, till the same unpleasant associations that people had with niggers get attached to the next name change, all which gives the appearance of negroes running away from themselves, somewhat after the fashion of a snake shedding its skin. But for all that, it remains a fact that a snake is a snake is a snake, and that's why 'African-Americans' are still just niggers. Or rather N-words. And it is in just this expression that we see yet another stage in negroes' passing from name to name in order to "git respec'" and avoid the unpleasant associations attached in everyone's mind to niggers. I say this, because 'N-word' is not merely an inadequate symbol for negroes-niggers-darkies-coloreds-blacks-AfroAmericans-AfricanAmericans, but it lends itself to the most delicious humor -- humor which I have already had the pleasure to employ in another essay. The humor rests on the absurdity of referring to blacks as N-words, or referring to a black as 'that N-word' or 'you N-word'. Such activity is essentially calling blacks niggers, but it does so in a way that emphasizes the hypocrisy and absurdity of letter-wording. Now it bears pointing out that letter-wording was not originally developed for 'nigger', but rather emerged first in the expression 'the F-word' (for 'fuck'). Letter-wording, however, has not really gotten serious till recently, because -- in deference to blacks, but ironically as a coverup for blacks' own crudity -- at least two other words have frequently been letter-worded -- the B-word ('bitch') and the H-word ('"ho'", ie, 'whore'). It is blacks, of course, who use 'bitch' and 'whore' with a frequency above and beyond the call of literary duty, but these words having emerged into media consciousness with the angst over misogynist rap music and the Don Imus affair, the Foreskinners who control the information flow have seen fit to impose a softening effect to the negroidal linguistic animalism, and this has midwifed 'the B-word' and 'the H-word'. But with all these developments, it is not difficult to see the emergence of an entire vocabulary of letter-words. Below is a compilation which includes words which have actually been used, plus other logical candidates that will likely come into their own, once there is a better understanding of letter-wording. I have listed these words in alphabetic order for lack of better way to group them: The A-word: Ass, Asshole, Alcoholic, Ay-rab The B-word: Beaner, Bitch, Bonk, Blowjob The C-word: Cunt, Clit (clitoris), Chink, Cock, Cum, Coke (drug) The D-word: Dago, Dick, Democracy The E-word: Enema, Ego, Egotism The F-word: Fuck, Fart, Faggot, Feminist The G-word: Guts (My Great-Aunt Fostina McMakin refused to say this word (in reference to General Patton, nicknamed "Old Blood and Guts"), so that is why I include it here) The H-word: 'Ho, Homo The I-word: Izzie (Israel, Israeli) The J-word: Jew, Jap The K-word: Kraut, Kaffir The L-word: Lezzie, Latrino The M-word: Midget (The 'little people' regard 'midgit' as an insult, but dwarf is ok), Mexcrement The MF-word: Mother-fucker The N-word: Nigger The O-word: Orgasm The P-word: Penis, Prick, Pussy, Pot, Paunch The Q-word: Queer The R-word: Russkie, Roastbeef The S-word: Shit, Screw, Suck The T-word: Tit, Tush The U-word: Urine, urinate The V-word: Vagina The W-word: Whore, Work (for negroes) The X-word: Open for suggestions The Y-word: Yack-yack (women) The Z-word: Zit So how, then, might letter-words affect literature? As we know from the Victorian experience, their effect cannot be good, except perhaps as a study in hypocrisy. As an illustration, let us look at a simple story written with letter-words: [BEGIN] It was Saturday night, and I was looking for some P-word. I didn't usually go down to N-word Town, but some black A-word seemed to be just the thing I needed. As I walked down the street, a large N-word approached me. "Hey, my brutha, would you be looking for a hot B-word to F-word?" "Why yes," I replied. "Something with big T-words and a large bubble A-word." "Well, then," replied the N-word, "What would you say about having the S-word standing right against the wall over there? You can B-word her three different ways from Sunday, and all for a special price of one-fifty." "Wow, that sounds great", I said. "Here's two bucks, and keep the extra fifty cents as a tip." "HEEEY, you MF-word! You tryin' ta S-word me or sumptin? One-fifty means ONE HUNDRED FIFTY BUCKS, you C-word-suckin' white D-word. "Hey, cool it, man -- I was just joking. The girl looks fine, but can she deep-throat my D-word?" "Can she deep-throat! Oooo man, she can take a horse C-word and make it come out her T-word!" [END] Now please forgive me for ending this story abruptly, but I think you know what happened, which is the same thing that happens to most white men who wander into a black area with money in their pocket, or even without. But my point is not to agonize over stupid white men who rapidly become dead white males, but rather to point out that euphemism will not bring us Shakespeare; and I trust that the discussion I have offered here, along with my story, is sufficient to secure the reader's agreement. Or if not, then you can kiss my A-word.
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#1. To: Tauzero (#0)
Shirley, Shirley bo birley bonana fanna fo firley.
From birdman's site: "What I say may seem outrageous and outre, but my purpose is to push the envelope of discourse to its outer limits on the theory that freedom of speech, like both mind and body, requires vigorous exercise to remain healthy. Beyond this, the act of pushing the free speech envelope will embolden others to speak, and their acts of boldness reinforce the perception that free speech is tolerated, thereby increasing the probability that it will be. But as I embolden others to speak, so I embolden them to act; and in this way I help insure that free speech is more than a sounding gong or a tinkling symbol. Put another way, I hope to make the world safe for bigotry, ie, safe for the opinions to which -- in Ambrose Bierce's words -- others are intractably and vociferously opposed. But if I advocate free speech, I also advocate and impose upon myself the harshest and most demanding discipline on speech: I acknowledge my critics and call attention to their criticism, and I always respond seriously to any serious criticism they may offer. What this means is that I accept and impose the discipline of truth: If someone is right in their criticism, I have an obligation to acknowledge the error -- publicly if possible; and with as stringent a discipline as this, I am forced to be careful in what I say. For all its stringency, however, this discipline offers some very distinct advantages: It ultimately disarms my critics -- not infrequently turning them into friends -- and continually reinforces my reputation among both friends and foes as one who is as intolerant of error in himself as he is intolerant of it in others, and as morally incorruptible as any man who walks the earth. By this means, then, I retain as enemies only the evil and the stupid; and these are those who would be my enemies no matter what. Thus my fights are few, easy and usually small, while my victories are often grand; and in the process I accomplish one of the most desired goals of any man anywhere -- I can sleep at night." I like the way he thinks.
Do You Know What Freedom Really Means? Freedom4um.com
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