h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>> Does anyone else get quite stressed with being expected to be civil *all the time*? <<

If you mean generally and in real life, then I expect most people make conscious decisions to split their time between any work or social situations that demand civil behavior (and possibly even a dress code) and those times when they can relax, put on their play clothes, let their hair down and just be themselves.

Cyberspace, where we generally don't really know anything about the other people we're talking to, requires a constant level of second guessing what others will think of what we are saying. This 'consideration' of others can lead to great stress in people who would normally have difficulty in meeting and greeting strangers. On the other hand, anonynity on the web, offers some a chance to be rude or insolent in ways they cannot achieve in real life.

For example, I doubt if in real life, Batherskate has ever reared up on his hind legs, transmorphed into an impression of Gandalf and roared, "Begone!" to anyone. The web provides opportunities for a lot of healthy exercise in self expression. By the same token, I doubt if Deidzoeb walks up to strangers in the malls and starts lecturing them on the use of certain words within fifty paces of anyone on pschotropic medications.

Perhaps my training and life experience as a disc-jockey and actor gives me a better perspective. I am quite used to performing for a large and mostly invisible audience. I cant see them and I'm not really worrying about what any one or two in that audience think of me, so long as there is a general round of applause from the crowd. Politicians have the same ability to approach the anonymous masses.

Posting in large public forums is a lot like public speaking and most people only have experiences of that when called upon to answer questions in class. That's why many postings sound like a nervous balance between 'friendly chatter', 'formal essays' and schoolyard roughousing.


~jwf~

actor, eh? been in any films?

"For example, I doubt if in real life, Blatherskite has ever reared up on his hind legs, transmorphed into an impression of Gandalf and roared, "Begone!" to anyone."

Hah! Shows what you know...

*scurries into dark corner and hides behind Merlin's hat*



~jwf~

Is it too late to join in the convo? I just had a few thoughts:

If something is spoken as an insult, it's entire point was to offend. That's the point of an insult: To offend. Some insults are racist or in some way prejudiced or derogatory to certain niches, minorities, or afflicted people not in the dominant "culture," and the people who use them are in some way, consciously or unconsciously, harboring the systemic prejudice/bigotry that the word or words entail. Political Correctness only serves to hide their prejudices, not end them - a quick fix, so they remain comparitively inoffensive until they die, which seems unfortunately to be the rate at which society can progress.

However, linguistics do not work in absolutes. What would be the end-all be-all insults that made people spontaneously combust or could only be resolved by a cage match to the death are acceptable on basic cable now. Various racist comments that probably would've gotten one killed in the wrong company are now used jokingly by the very people they were supposed to offend for the reason that it helps them bond as a people. That's a funny thing about definitions from without, in a racist society - if so much as a drop of black blood makes you black, well then there's a hell of a lot more black folk around with one thing in common: They aren't "officially" white.

When Graham Chapman can use every known Jewish epithet on himself in Life of Brian and for Mel Brooks to choreograph a musical skit on the Spanish Inquisition, it has to make you think about what makes something "offensive." It's not what's said, it's not *how* it's said, it's about *WHO* says it, and whether or not the audience understands that the speaker is "in the know," - considerate - so to speak, about whatever niche they're making fun of.

Just banning offensive words doesn't end offensive thought; it just spawns NEW offensive words that people hadn't heard of before. I'd much rather the idea of people taking control of what connotations a word has - such as the battle over the word "hacker," for instance...

>> actor, eh? been in any films? <<

Apparently, Milo has not been following my column in

A961995

A986303


~jwf~

>> Just banning offensive words doesn't end offensive thought..<<

Most rules, regulations and even the important and ancient Laws will always be broken. But we need Laws to provide some deterrent and to allow punishment or justice for such obvious violations of human rights as murder, rape, theft, assualt... Hopefully the word police will never have the power to incarcerate people for their use of certain words. I believe any constant repeated use of such words directed toward a specific individual is already well covered by harassment and stalker laws and in the worst cases can be prosecuted under charges of 'assault'.

Hi, NYC Student and welcome. It is never too late to join a conversation, especially if one can formulate and express argument as clearly as you. Always glad to see more articulate and intelligent people join in these discussions.


~jwf~

"Always glad to see more articulate and intelligent people join in these discussions."

Was that meant in the sense of "Glad to see another ... person...", or were you trying to demean everyone who'd posted earlier? I demand that we are told.

>> ...were you trying to demean everyone who'd posted earlier? <<

Well lessee.. I said:
"Always glad to see more articulate and intelligent people join in these discussions."

Yes, I see the difficulty. The function of the word 'more' might be ambiguous the way I separated it from '..people join in'. The trouble started when I stuffed in 'articulate' and 'intelligent' to describe the people here, of whom there will always be, 'more', welcome.

Anyone concerned about their status in the world of intellect could easily have misinterpreted my statement. Y'know the type who worry about being compared with anyone who might really be 'more intelligent' or 'more articulate'. Oh dear, I have been insensitive to their needs haven't I? How every wrong and politically incorrect of moi!

Yes, I should have made it more clear.
I meant, that the articulate and intelligent people here will always welcome more articulate and intelligent people, not necessarily more 'more articulate' or more 'more intelligent' people. I mean that wouldn't be good. If we got more 'more articulate' and more 'more intelligent' people, all us dummies would be left gob smacked.

I did of course mean more of the same and any offense taken by the inarticulate and unintelligent or the paranoiac is purely coincidental. No inarticulate or unintelligent persons were deliberately harmed in the making of this post.

BTW:
Has anyone guessed yet that the topic of this thread is just too irresistable for me and that I have set my heart on being the last Nutter standing. I mean, hey, the newbie who started this question hasn't posted in four days. He had most of us figgered from the get-go. So yes, I will now prove to each and every one of you that I am the great Nutter, the Grand Poobah of Nuttery and I shall be here when you have all finally figgered out that I should be avoided.


~jwf~

Newbie?????..the.. visitor..has been around over a year..(a few days longer than me)....and has posted in last few days..just not in this thread..

Emmily

You are absolutely right Emmily.
I should have checked the personal space before leaping to my assumption. Obviously, it had just struck me as the kind of question a newbie might well ask, and the name 'a visitor to planet earth' does imply a recent and/or temporary relocation to these environs, but I should not have jumped to any conclusion based on this limited evidence. Let me offer my belated apologies to 'a visitor' and acknowledge that I was totally fooled by his name and question. Touche indeed.
peace
jwf

jwf..I'd avoided coming back to this thread..&..didn't know you'd replied to me....

I'd avoided it..because I was saddened that what I took as an innocent humorous post from a friend whom I believe wouldn't offend anyone..(hence..my reply in post 7)..caused such offence....

When you have the time..take a look at A-Z Me..on my space..particually the letter N ..

Emmily

Hmmm, handcuffs and icecubes. Sounds like a party!

No comment....

..knows what it means....

Emmily