The story burning up the internets today is about a letter written by Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe in support of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo (who is vocal advocate of marriage equality).
Making a long story short, Maryland Democratic politician Emmett C. Burns asked the Baltimore Ravens football organization to make Ayanbadejo shut up about marriage. Kluwe (also a supporter of marriage equality) thought this was bullshit, and decided to write an open letter to Burns to tell him how he felt.
The letter is sheer genius. Go read it immediately.
I'm guessing this image of Kluwe is a team photo, courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings?
As you might have noticed, the letter is filled with colorful language which has raised some criticism of Kluwe's choice of words.
This really hit home with me, because I struggle with whether or not I should use swear words most every time I write in this blog. When I first started blogging I swore constantly and didn't think anything about dropping
It was a practice that was destined to be short-lived. I use swear-words in real life when I'm fired up. So it's unavoidable that I'm going to use swear-words on my blog when I'm fired up. For a while I tried to disguise it... typing out things like "F#@%!" and "B#LL$H!T!," but comedian Suzy Soro commented that this is kind of stupid. Since absolutely everybody knows what you're trying to say anyway... why not just come out and say it?
She was absolutely right, and I've been cursing in my blog ever since.
Though I admit that most times I do regret it.
Somebody once told me that swearing is a sign that the writer is unintelligent. They don't know how to express themselves properly, so they foolishly have to resort to curse words to make their point. In some respects, I agree with this assessment.
In other respects, I'd argue that there's no word that can adequately take the place of "fuck."
And so I use it. Probably more often than I should... but definitely not as often as I want to. "Fuck" (and dozens of words like it) are forms of expression that I find helpful in communicating exactly what I'm feeling in a way that "shucky darn" doesn't quite reach.
Anyway...
Today I managed to get in my essential visit to America's Dog so I could get my Veggie Chicago Dog...
It was, as always, delicious.
Oh... and speaking of delicious food... I never check a bag when flying into O'Hare so I can grab a veggie burger at Johnny Rocket's before I exit through security. But yesterday as I approached the restaurant, I was horrified to see that IT WASN'T THERE!
WHAT THE FUCK?! Shucky darn!
I hate it when that happens.
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“Somebody once told me that swearing is a sign that the writer is unintelligent. They don’t know how to express themselves properly, so they foolishly have to resort to curse words to make their point. In some respects, I agree with this assessment.”
In what respects? I have a full vocabulary and can say pretty much anything I want clearly and intelligently. How does my intelligence magically disappear if I say, for example, “Why the fuck did you do that stupid shit?” as opposed to something like, “Why in the world did you behave so stupidly?”
Intelligence has nothing to do with vulgarity.
In the respect that many of the brightest minds in history were able to express themselves in some of the most expressive moments of their lives without swearing. Ultimately, it’s a statement that I don’t agree with as a whole, but I understand how it could be valid when there are so many excellent examples.
I generally don’t swear on my blog, or in conversations around the kids, but other times I’m a sailor. I think I’m living in that limbo between getting nailed for cussing in front of a kid in public who isn’t mine (I did the other day at a hair salon), and being tempted because it does express things in a certain way just because of the shock value behind it. Saying “Bullshit!” says so much so quickly, and to the point when you have a lot of emotion attached. There are few ways to nail that in a properly, cleanly worded sentence. Kinda makes the cussing special, though… like dessert. Save it for when you want to enjoy it?
I use the same exact language in my blog that I use in real life. In fact, I will often go through a blog post before I publish to make sure that I don’t write anything that doesn’t sound as if I said it out loud. Poor grammar (see that last sentence) and all.
That letter was awesome, by the way.
I’m with B.E. I write like I talk. It’s seems a bit pretentious to me to do otherwise.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve dropped the f bomb on my blog. In real life, despite conscious effort, I can’t make it through the day without letting the word slip at least once.
That was a great letter. I would argue it’s even more important for athletes in sports beheld as macho like football to speak up for marriage equality. If they’re cool with it, the average Joe can be too.
As for language, I’ve used a few swears on my blog, but I try to express myself without them. Rather than watered down versions of swears, I look to Shakespeare for inspiration. There’s loads you can say sans swears that are as strong and more imaginative.
i felt guilty when i realized people i know had found my blog and toned a lot of things i write about–and how i write–down. part of me wishes i hadn’t done so or wants to start a new anonymous blog, but that sounds like a lot of work.
That open letter is amazing and I think even with the foul language he uses it is still a must read for everyone.
I find it funny that the only person I know that uses the word “Shucky Darn” is my Aunt. LOL What’s funny about this is she used to live in Cashmere as well. So, just wondering who or where did you here it?
Thanks
I believe I heard it on a television show when I was young. I’ve been using it ever since when swearing in mixed company. 🙂