Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 11, 2022

Too bad intention doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Today’s Pearls Before Swine happens to cover this topic, but differently.

What’s really worse is some people are offended by stuff that isn’t even mean. Racial slurs, swear words, sure. But some people decide something is offensive because of some long, far-fetched, by-proxy reasons that obviously no sane person means.

If you want to hear mean words, run for office.

The last part can be answered. There are so many mean words because nobody wants to use an old-fashioned mean word. It has to be a new one.

Trick is to invent a word and only use it in certain situations. Tha gives you dibs on the definition.

In the 1970s, when they still aired “Blazing Saddles” on network TV, they bleeped out “Up yours,” but left the n-word intact! It’s the other way around now – if it even airs!

Proven over the decades: if it shows up on tv or other media, it must be ok to use it anywhere. Illogical but typical.

Afraid to say anything these days…always someone to take offence….I try to keep my thoughts to myself

Language changes. Some words become considered offensive, and some stop being offensive. That’s always happened and it’s normal.

But it’s not like there’s a Central Language Office where somebody sends a memo to everyone telling them when it changes.

Maybe we should start by assuming that a person using an older term didn’t know it was offensive instead of assuming they’re trying to offend.

Things would be a lot more pleasant if everyone started by assuming other people were acting from good motivations until proven otherwise.

Woke up, Beyotch!

Be careful lad. You’re last thought might be a micro-trigger, to someone, somewhere, at any time. Now get back in the lunch line, and be sure to thank the cooks.

Sticks and stones etc

It’s always amusing reading comments and seeing how many people get offended at people being offended.

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a dämn.”

Clark Gable said that to Vivien Leigh as he walked out of the front door of Tara for the last time. It was considered horribly shocking at the time, and some film critics were actually concerned that it might doom the movie at the box office.

But now, it appears, the only one being shocked by it is the GoComics nannybot, which forces me to diacriticize it.

Over a dozen years ago, I dealt with this same issue of what constitutes a “mean word” in my blog posting “Words for Retards”. The tl;dr version: People in general (and little kids in particular) will always turn any description of an unfavored type of person into an insult, no matter how hard well intentioned people try to come up with acceptable substitutes. Full story here: richardsrussell.blogspot.com/2009/12/words-for-retards.html

No word is inherently “bad” some can be used badly.