Archives for April 2012

The power of quotation marks

Truly, political correctness is anathema to me.... As a writer, I understand the power of quotation marks. In fiction writing, it’s when my characters come to life and speak. In my nonfiction work, this form of punctuation indicates the words contained within are quoted verbatim, exactly as uttered from the mouth of the speaker cited. Sometimes in my writing, I’ll put quotation marks around a single word to convey what I consider to be questionable usage. Those applications are the only ones using quotes with which I am comfortable using. For example, today I'd like to talk about the ongoing effort to stigmatize users of an currently “unpopular” word. You see, in this instance, “unpopular” suggests that nobody likes the word. But in truth, only a certain set of people dislike use of the word and seek to marginalize its use by the general public. However, there is yet another convention. In the modern vernacular, quotes placed around only a single letter signify that the word associated in question that comes to mind in the given context is politically incorrect, or verboten. For example, the “N” word associated with a racial slur is considered one of the most horrible, offensive words in the English language. It is thought to be so bad that a teacher got fired for using the word "niggardly" correctly in a sentence, because it only sounded like the forbidden one. Before you think it was simply an aberration, the same thing happened to the aide to the mayor of Washington, D.C. In other words, ignorance and hypersensitivity to political … [Read more...]

The blind eye to a bully

Physically, I'm not all that big or intimidating. I don't bully people that way. However, that does not translate to mean I am totally incapable of mistreating other humans. Quite the contrary. In other writings, I have previously recounted bits and pieces of one personal situation where I irritated, manipulated and cajoled one particular "adversary" to the point where he threatened to commit suicide on my front doorstep. The point of mentioning this is not to brag. I'm not proud of that moment in time, a personal nadir. Rather ashamed of myself, in fact. My only point in mentioning the story was to acknowledge the fact that I am perfectly capable of being a bully. And I know it. The question is, what should I do with that information? Now, in my defense, many would argue the person who threatened to kill himself because of my evil scheming was himself a thug and a supreme jerk, and "got what he deserved." Truthfully, it's not like I was picking a fight with Mother Teresa. However, that's no excuse. To make another human being feel so bad about himself that he claimed he wanted to die at my feet, because of my words, was not a good feeling. I had to ask myself, is the only way to deal with a bully to become a worse one? I think not. The incident in question was not a proud moment to remember from my personal history, precisely because in order to defeat what I hate most, I became what I abhor. A bully. Of someone several inches taller, and about fifty pounds heavier than me -- but as we all know, size has nothing to do with it. Speed … [Read more...]

Student loans

Not long ago, a friend asked me to support a “movement” to forgive all outstanding student loans. What, a bowel movement? My response to him was not just no, but Hell, No! My parents paid off my student loans. I’m doing the same for my son. He's currently saving money to go back to school. Actions have consequences. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. These phrases became clichés precisely because they are true. After she’s pregnant, it’s too late to say you don’t want to be a father. Nobody puts a gun to your head and forces you to attend Harvard. Take what you want, but pay for it yourself. Oh wait, sorry. My bad. I forgot about the “convenience” called abortion. That subject was still taboo when I was single. In those days, women weren’t proud to have aborted a baby. Instead, they were ashamed they let themselves get impregnated by a jerk. It doesn’t seem to be a big deal these days. Of course, “back in the day,” abortions were self funded and not covered by any medical plans. Now, the self-proclaimed “have-nots” want the mysterious “haves” to give them anything they desire, and the soup du jour is a free college education. Obama is playing to that class warfare crowd, moaning about the expense of higher education without examining the actual costs. This political advertisement claims “student loan debt exceeds one trillion dollars.” But has anyone asked the question, why? What makes college so expensive? The liberal answer to the rising cost of education seems to be that it should be free, simply because it costs too much. Really? … [Read more...]

The death of comity

While he was alive, my father said he preferred the company of animals to the company of people. At the time, I thought he only meant my company. After all, we’d both outgrown the idea my living under the same roof with him. I didn’t take it personally. We both knew when it was time for me to go. However, in retrospect, I believe Rocky was actually making a more general statement about the human condition because the older I get, I more I get to be like him. These days, it seems the more people I meet, the fewer I wish to know. Not because of how they look, but how they act. I already know enough people who behave like Melvin Udall, before he fell in love and became human. For example, real-life Rocky and fictitious Melvin shared more than one personality quirk in common. Hostility, much of it fueled by racial prejudices, increases by the day. People no longer stop to think before they speak, or about the feelings of those they are ripping to shreds. They don't even bother to listen to the civilized debate point the other is trying to make before shouting them down. Instead, these very angry people just unleash their vitriol at will, because it feels good to let it all hang out. Often though, it is blind hatred directed against an innocent bystander, not directed anger at another who actually caused them harm. And the smarter someone thinks he or she is, the more likely they will feel empowered to call the target of their derision an idiot, a moron, or an animal. Interestingly enough, only recently someone rather vociferously asserted that I was a … [Read more...]

The chicken-or-egg enigma, a slight return

 While wandering through the Humane Society of Forsyth County thrift store, I found a hardcover copy of Wendy Northcutt's The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action (with dust jacket) in their book section, for the bargain price of $1. Years ago while working in the corporate world, I laughed along with my "techie" co-workers at the travails of the award "nominees" and "winners" on emails we used to circulate. So I snapped up the available copy, finding it to be in excellent condition. The Darwin Award famously acknowledges the acts of individuals who inadvertently"added a little chlorine into the gene pool." The winner usually receives the award posthumously, for what it's worth. Maybe it's just me, but reading these stories about human beings killing and maiming themselves with a single, stupid mistake doesn't strike me as funny anymore. Not when I know real people are dying, and leaving behind grieving family members. I will be donating my copy back to the thrift store. I can't bring myself to just throw it away because it can potentially raise another dollar for the Humane Society. And reading the book wasn't a total complete of time. It caught my attention when, in one aside to the reader, the author posed and answered the existential chicken-or-the-egg question. Author Northcutt boldly wrote, Which came first, the chicken or the egg? According to evolution theory, the egg did. New species evolve when mutations in parental reproductive cells result in offspring with unique traits. The fertilized egg is the first member of a new species, so the egg comes … [Read more...]