Untangling The Webs We Weave...


First off, it's Friday the 13th, so there won't be any references to luck, superstition, black cats, sidewalk cracks, ladders, etc. except to say that we each receive whatever "luck" is available. Some receive much, while others receive nil. I'm a firm believer that we (for the most part) create our OWN luck in most every instance.

With that said, I'd like to address the current issue involving language. I won't go into the whole Imus thing (everyone else is busy doing it anyway). What I will say is that Imus USED to be good (30 years ago), but has devolved into "just another schlock-jock" (imho). What is more important than the focus on HIM, is the fact that we are seeing a unique DOUBLE-STANDARD when it comes to words in our lexicon. We are seeing people wanting to go as far as to BAN certain words from our language. To that I would ask: What's next? Banning sentences? Banning books? Then after banning them, do we start BURNING those books? That's a definite step in the WRONG direction, if you ask me.

ANY word (in any tongue) can be powerful....but ONLY if that word IS EMPOWERED (at least to the degree we see it today). Without the power behind any word, it's just another entry in someone's dictionary. And how DOES a word receive this particular type of empowerment?

We can point to the media first. The fact that any word, when given "center stage" on such a consistent basis, will inevitably wind up the "star" of the show. And with that type of "celebrity" comes a helluva lot of responsibility, as we all know. Most times, all we DO see is IRRESPONSIBILITY, such as the context of a word's usage, application, frequency of such application, and even misinterpretation. Funny thing is that in some circles, certain words are allowed (and even encouraged), while for everyone else, it's taken to be derogatory and heinous in both context and content. We can also say that marketing also drives this misdirected word-empowerment with it's conjugal promotion via the media outlets available.

Seems like everyone is sleeping with the enemy these days...and loving (read profiting from) it. Let's face it...this type of thing makes SERIOUS money. Still, if we have a word that many think is vile, degrading, and such, why constantly keep it in front of everyone? Why commit verbicide by giving it a "celebratory" status? If we truly wish to wrest power from a word we deem intolerable, one thing we cannot do is remove it totally from our lexicon. The essence (or spirit if you will) of the word will live on long after each of us has passed, so that simply will NOT suffice. We just cannot simply say: "Ok, don't use THAT word any more", because we all know it WILL continue to be used (and in likelihood, even MORE so). Neither can we keep the status quo by saying the word shouldn't bother anyone, because in THIS day and age, we've too many people who are "uber-sensitive" to anything AND everything coming down the pike. Personally, I'd take these people, and play the "sticks and stones" saying over and over to them until they got the message (or their brains turned to mush...whichever came first).

So...if we can't with good conscience BAN a word (which would lead us all down a very slipperly slope), what CAN we do with it? My answer would be to more fully DEFINE the word. There seems to be too much "gray area" where language is concerned these days (that would explain the flawed judicial system to a *T*....all the "legalese" that plea-bargains the wrong people out all the time). So much of our society is "open to interpretation" to include everything from the Bible to the founding documents of this great nation. Everyone just can't take one single thing as it was originally intended and at face value any longer.

Now, scrutiny is GOOD...when warranted (and it results in positive change of a bad situation), but to scrutinize for scrutiny's sake (alone) is mere folly. Everyone has a right to THEIR "opinion", but when opinions begin to set precedents instead of relying on good solid judgement and facts, we've got to back up and look at this long and hard. Opinions are good ONLY to allow debate on issues, and should NOT be the sole determining factors either for or against ANY issue.
But that's just MY "opinion"...LOL!

We (as the HUMAN race) have created our languages to more fully express ourselves one to another. And with some exceptions (like Ebonics), we've done a remarkable job. We should however be mindful to examine the fact that we are all judged by HOW WE SPEAK and by the WORDS WE USE. It comes down to what we are TAUGHT (either by others or by ourselves)....like the old "garbage IN - garbage OUT" axiom. We are a product of nurture AS WELL AS nature.
If we use words out of context...people notice.
If we choose inappropriate words...people notice.
And if we speak either deleteriously or eloquently...people WILL notice.
We must weigh WHAT we say and HOW we say it, especially in times such as these, where every syllable is under the "watchful eye" of some self-appointed "Big Brother"...ready to pounce upon us, acting as judge, jury and executioner, because we said something either satirically, as an aside, or even spoke before we thought (which can happen to the best of us at times). And once those words are "out", we just can't take them back. We can apologize for our mistake, and then get on with life. Unfortunately, some people aren't comfortable with that alone....they always want more. That's a whole other problem by itself.

I've always liked the idea of "Being able to tell people to go to hell in such a way, that they actually enjoy the ride". Again, that's putting verbiage to the proper use. And this entire "We can say this word, but YOU can't" is nothing more than playground bully posturing, and is the crux of this verbal "double-standard" I'm seeing way too much of. If everyone can't say it, then why did we ever create it, or foster it's use to the Nth degree (for only some) ? And don't you think that if everyone can use it, it will LOSE the power that was given (falsely) to it in the first place? Either we take these words, remove the power from it, or redefine it. We can't HAVE words we despise AND NOT HAVE them as well....that makes no sense.

But to commit to an arbitrary BAN on words...well, that smacks of fascism...plain and simple.

And I don't like the idea of doing the "Goosestep" any more than I like having to watch every damn word issuing from my mouth regarding self-expression for fear of reprisal...

How about you?