This might ruffle a few feathers but I can't help but take note of this. I was browsing my Facebook page when a short video appears. It is a very small child and this child is saying the F-bomb. I noticed a lady, of obviously senior years, saying how it started her day out with a smile and a good laugh. My immediate response, and I can be impulsive, was how is that funny ? I just have to say, it's wrong. On so many levels it is just wrong. Her response to me was, to each their own. I gave her response a " like " and moved on. But, this minor incident has stuck with me and has become a burr under my saddle. Now, I admit if this was some teenage kid I probably wouldn't have been so surprised. Have we really lost our sense of social conscious to the point where this sort of thing is a source of amusement ? I mean, how did this child learn this word and use it in " proper " context ? I italicized proper because it was being used as a noun, instead of the verb that it is. It is apparent this child is exposed to this sort of language. I would suggest on a regular basis.
I have written about polite company in the past and think of Facebook as " being in polite company. " I started my own little group because I was apparently offending some others with my opinions. It wasn't the language I used, but the ideas I presented. And all of this is fine, that is the way it works in polite company. If you don't like what you are hearing, you just move on. Or, in my case, start your own group. I couldn't help but leave a remark on that posting. That isn't to say I will block this person or start an online battle but felt a social obligation to point out , what for me, was the obvious. If, as a society, in polite company we accept this sort of humor, we just cheapen the relationship. I understand that between the parents, or perhaps with a very close friend one might chuckle at this outburst from a child that obviously isn't aware how inappropriate that word is. That will be followed by attempting to explain how that could happen, dare I say embarrassment by the parent ? That's one thing, to post it to social media and then have strangers laughing at it speaks volumes to me. Are you really that desperate for attention ? And what kind of person says, I think that was hilarious ?
There will be those that say I'm offended . I say to them I am not offended just disappointed. Call it getting old, but I am seeing society degenerate right before my eyes. I'm aware that every generation says this. One day these millennials will be saying the same thing. The thing is that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said ! And that is what Polite Company really means. It was when people at least maintained a façade of civility ! Now that is being discarded as an outdated concept. No longer do we temper our thoughts, we just throw them out there. There are no boundaries, nothing is held in.
Look I was in the Navy for twenty years. I seriously doubt there isn't a single foul mouthed, obscene or disgusting thing I haven't heard said. I can string together expletives with the best of them, and I admit, on occasion, I did so. You do have to adapt to the environment if you want to get along. In the case of the Navy, I didn't have a choice, I couldn't just storm off. Still I knew even then that doing so wouldn't make me any more relevant, or intelligent. No, it was more a show of aggression than anything else. That is what it is. Aggression must be countered with aggression, unless you are Gandhi or Mother Teresa.
Standards. That is what I'm talking about here. Standards of conduct and the self implementation of those standards. Yes, to each their own. And some have poor standards ! I said this would probably ruffle some feathers but I am one that has to speak his mind. And I say that video and the response to it was substandard behavior. I feel better having said so and so will now move on. Self righteous you say ? I don't think so, I still believe there are many that would agree with me. When one uses foul and abusive language it is a sign of aggression. When you defend actions that you know to be inherently wrong, that is also a sign of aggression. It is done to avoid contrition. Contrition is good for the soul and shouldn't be avoided. Of course, if you act right, you don't have to be concerned with that.
I have written about polite company in the past and think of Facebook as " being in polite company. " I started my own little group because I was apparently offending some others with my opinions. It wasn't the language I used, but the ideas I presented. And all of this is fine, that is the way it works in polite company. If you don't like what you are hearing, you just move on. Or, in my case, start your own group. I couldn't help but leave a remark on that posting. That isn't to say I will block this person or start an online battle but felt a social obligation to point out , what for me, was the obvious. If, as a society, in polite company we accept this sort of humor, we just cheapen the relationship. I understand that between the parents, or perhaps with a very close friend one might chuckle at this outburst from a child that obviously isn't aware how inappropriate that word is. That will be followed by attempting to explain how that could happen, dare I say embarrassment by the parent ? That's one thing, to post it to social media and then have strangers laughing at it speaks volumes to me. Are you really that desperate for attention ? And what kind of person says, I think that was hilarious ?
There will be those that say I'm offended . I say to them I am not offended just disappointed. Call it getting old, but I am seeing society degenerate right before my eyes. I'm aware that every generation says this. One day these millennials will be saying the same thing. The thing is that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said ! And that is what Polite Company really means. It was when people at least maintained a façade of civility ! Now that is being discarded as an outdated concept. No longer do we temper our thoughts, we just throw them out there. There are no boundaries, nothing is held in.
Look I was in the Navy for twenty years. I seriously doubt there isn't a single foul mouthed, obscene or disgusting thing I haven't heard said. I can string together expletives with the best of them, and I admit, on occasion, I did so. You do have to adapt to the environment if you want to get along. In the case of the Navy, I didn't have a choice, I couldn't just storm off. Still I knew even then that doing so wouldn't make me any more relevant, or intelligent. No, it was more a show of aggression than anything else. That is what it is. Aggression must be countered with aggression, unless you are Gandhi or Mother Teresa.
Standards. That is what I'm talking about here. Standards of conduct and the self implementation of those standards. Yes, to each their own. And some have poor standards ! I said this would probably ruffle some feathers but I am one that has to speak his mind. And I say that video and the response to it was substandard behavior. I feel better having said so and so will now move on. Self righteous you say ? I don't think so, I still believe there are many that would agree with me. When one uses foul and abusive language it is a sign of aggression. When you defend actions that you know to be inherently wrong, that is also a sign of aggression. It is done to avoid contrition. Contrition is good for the soul and shouldn't be avoided. Of course, if you act right, you don't have to be concerned with that.
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