The dreaded "C" word
Censorship.
It's an ugly word, isn't it?
I would argue that self-censorship is not only not ugly, but desirable. Otherwise, we might as well be suffering from Tourette syndrome.
Nevertheless, I've read from other posters here about how trying to be nice to others (or heaven forfend trying to avoid using vulgar language) amounts to self-censorship and is implicitly therefore a bad thing.
Yet, anyone who has studied child psychology can tell you that self-censorship is a skill that is a vital part of growing up.
That doesn't mean you can't cuss. It doesn't mean you can't be sarcastic. It definitely doesn't mean you can't speak to harsh truths. It does mean you should be mindful of what you write, and possibly even re-read what you write before pressing the Submit button. (If I did that more often, perhaps I'd have fewer spelling/grammatical errors in my comments.)
Preachy rant over, for now.
It's an ugly word, isn't it?
I would argue that self-censorship is not only not ugly, but desirable. Otherwise, we might as well be suffering from Tourette syndrome.
Nevertheless, I've read from other posters here about how trying to be nice to others (or heaven forfend trying to avoid using vulgar language) amounts to self-censorship and is implicitly therefore a bad thing.
Yet, anyone who has studied child psychology can tell you that self-censorship is a skill that is a vital part of growing up.
That doesn't mean you can't cuss. It doesn't mean you can't be sarcastic. It definitely doesn't mean you can't speak to harsh truths. It does mean you should be mindful of what you write, and possibly even re-read what you write before pressing the Submit button. (If I did that more often, perhaps I'd have fewer spelling/grammatical errors in my comments.)
Preachy rant over, for now.
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Hey, Ben, you seem like you might want to sign my pledge:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/06/that-way-lies-madness.php
If not, comment there as to why. Otherwise, thanks. I can't believe no takers yet and only 2 Rec's.
June 6, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you read David Brooks' article in the New York Times today on Lincoln and self control?
June 6, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I did not. I don't read the NYT on a regular basis. Is it available without a prescription?
June 6, 2008 4:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
It does but I believe this section doesn't require subscription.
June 6, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's available on the black market.
June 6, 2008 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know if it requires prescription, but it no longer requires subscription.
June 7, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
But the story is ofttimes heard from those who wrote for it that they needed plenty of prescriptions to keep it going.
June 7, 2008 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
:P
I probably deserve that, however.
June 7, 2008 4:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes I did. Enjoyed it.
June 6, 2008 9:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for this god **** post Ben. I will try the bull**** you suggest. It still seems a little like ****ing censorship.
Wait, are you one of those son of a ***** marxists? I'll assume you ****ing are unless you prove me wrong.
June 6, 2008 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Allow me to clarify that there's a time and place for self-censorship. Also, that time and place can sometimes determine the fucking nature of that damn censorship. In particular, I'd argue that some shitty cusswords are worse than others.
More seriously, the words I'm most annoyed by are those that are gender-specific (or race-specific) insults.
Well, maybe not all gender-specific insults. I still grant you permission to call someone a dick, even if that someone is me. ;)
June 6, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is sooo sexist Ben. I, as a woman, am completely offended. Why, why, why can't I use the word bitch in a sentence when you will allow yourself to say (and others to call you) a dick? :)
June 6, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK, I might be convinced to provide indulgences for women to use female-specific cusswords. Is that better?
June 6, 2008 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm just fucking with you Ben. Good post, and it's too bad that it needs to be even said. I find myself constantly skeptical of people's motives on some of the more childish posts here.
June 6, 2008 11:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't worry. I didn't take it personally. Of course, I guess it's hard to tell on the internet, especially when I go into what's, for me, a very rare series of cuss words.
June 7, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm just messing with you of course. :) I know the reality, even though I don't agree with many of my sex. I am a woman and a feminist. But I don't subscribe to the screaming that women do when the B word comes out. I think they are synonymous really.
Dick = angry jerk
Bitch = angry jerk
You won't get many women to agree unfortunately.
June 6, 2008 11:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
That B word is one I always kind of liked as long as it was with women and we were joking. It has turned out to be a hot topic word however, and I have tried to stop using it. Did you know that about one in five women have been raped and that, while raping, men frequently use the B word? It is also used in situations of emotional abuse. I knew all that from personal experience, but I was trying to take the word back and take the sting out of it. That isn't possible for a lot of women. Hence, I try not to use it anymore. It's still sometimes fun to be potty mouthed though!
June 7, 2008 2:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's definitely not cut-and-dried. Hence, for me the safe move is to just avoid it, especially because I'm a male.
June 7, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yoda -- Hah!
June 7, 2008 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agree with the OP, and speaking of humor, I especially like the light hearted approach to dealing with flaming posts or comments, like the responses "Do not feed", "Trrooooolll" and such.
June 6, 2008 6:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Heartily #$%&ing rec'd!
June 6, 2008 9:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
<boring> Self-censor? One step at a *u***n* time. First let us edit WYSIWYG, after a preview.</boring>
June 6, 2008 9:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
To be contrarian, it could be vital only because the current society expects such behaviour.
I recall an article about a guy who has started a small movement based on always speaking the truth, including the "white lies" many societal theoretists have asserted create the foundation for civilisation ("No, dear, your butt looks exactly as big in those jeans as it always does.")
I do not think I would have the fortitude for that but for what it is worth, it apparently works really well.
June 6, 2008 10:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've always preferred lout.
It is a four letter word.
:)
June 6, 2008 11:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not a "Submit" button, moron. It's a fucking Send button. Learn to read.
(It's a JOKE, Ben! I'm being an a-hole! Ignore me!)
Rec'd.
June 7, 2008 2:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
I find it cathartic to sometimes write any damn, undisciplined thing I might want to write. Then I leave it on the screen and go get a drink or walk the dog. When I come back, I delete the whole thing instead of "sending" it. It seems to work wondrously well for getting poison emotions out of me without giving them to anybody else. It also works well for writing letters to non-net troublesome people. If my mother in law is particularly problematic, I write her a long letter, print it and burn it with a little cer-e-mony! i.e. have a glass of wine while it burns or something more creative.
June 7, 2008 2:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just don't bump into the wrong key as you are getting up to go walk the dog!
June 7, 2008 8:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
A fine form of censorship for you would be not blogging every day.
This way you could focus more precisely on your true passion for politics, and fewer blogs would make your pieces more interesting, at least for me.
June 7, 2008 11:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Others might contend that blogging, like some other things, is "use it or lose it".
That PIE thing was very interesting BTW. I can definitely see the roots in many European languages, even though the languages themselves are now almost completely different.
June 7, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've just seen too many fine posts go down the tubes because the person isn't in any group. That bores me, so I go elsewhere. But as you say, the "lose it or lose it" mentality of the mob works also. Without too much comment so as to not take up space on this thread, PIE studies helped identify the oldest Celtic languages (and myths) through through comparison with Sanskrit oral sagas written down in 1500 BC in what is now India. The westward migrations of Celts that you talked about, and the issue of what kind of language and culture existed before them (the very kind of history that underlies any historical understanding of pixies, faeries and the like, is relevant also in Biblical studies, the older Semitic Languages, the new style of the Indo-European Greek in Revelations, etc.
But at this point I censor my remarks. Good luck in the book review post. Maybe a few here will give it a rec.
June 7, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just Say No to Self-censorship :)
I'm not a linguist, not even an amateur one, but I have some experience with computer languages. The parallels with human languages are unmistakable - proto-languages, dialects, languages diverging and merging again.
It's ironic that just about every computer scientist knows about Noam Chomsky because of his research into the theory of languages. Just about every TPM reader knows about Noam Chomsky due to his political writings.
June 7, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
If that's specific, rather than just general, I'll point out that recently I've been posting a blog about once every three days. (Going back further skews it towards being far less frequent.)
Others have called for a self-imposed limit of one-per-day, and I think that sounds reasonable.
What really irritates me is when someone posts the same thing 3 or more times. Look, if it screws up, post what you were intending to post in the comment section.
June 7, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink