Saying What You Mean, & Vice Versa

Ugly Truths Revealed? Well, Maybe...

Warning: Post may contain offensive language & attitudes. Put on your helmet.

I've been sitting on this post for a while now. Couldn't decide whether to run it or not. Guess it's your lucky frickin' day.

Got a message from a long-time regular that something I'd written a while back could be considered offensive to others. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have emailed the flippant response that I did, but the way the comment was worded rubbed me the wrong way. See, it's one thing to tell me that others would be offended, but most often when a person uses that phrase it really means "*I* am offended by what you wrote."

I don't really do 'stream of consciousness' blogging here. Everything I put down is read, reread, and read one more time before the "Post" button is clicked. So, if something appears in a post that's potentially inflammatory, I can assure you that it isn't just a slip of the lip or a casual bon mot tossed off on a whim. Generally, I mean exactly what I say, even if it has the possibility of putting me in a not-so-favorable light.

The phrase in question WAS in poor taste. It's not PC, it's divisive, rude, racist, and really shouldn't be used in polite company. However, the person to whom is was applied is absolutely deserving of the label after all the occasions he's inflicted his personality, ethics and policies on the public at large. According to my opinion, anyway. Your mileage may vary. If I offended you by using the term, well, you were offended. I don't really feel it's my place to apologize for what another person doesn't like about my writing, so I'm just not gonna do it.

So... Knowing that El Capitan has breached the bounds of acceptable behavior, you, the reader, are at a crossroads. If you're really offended, you can always make a stink & de-link, as was done to this guy a while back for a similar faux pas. You can disappear forever, though that option would make me very sad. Maybe you could also realize that after 800+ posts where nothing of that sort has been said before, maybe I'm not really a closet Klansman, and I was being deliberately provocative offensive just for the shock value, or because my disdain for the person in question outweighs my desire to use socially acceptable language.

This woman brought up a good point recently. Sometimes we *don't* really put the whole truth out there on the internet. FSM knows that's true in my case. Maybe what y'all have been reading for the past 16 months has been a carefully crafted collection of BS meant solely to deceive. Perhaps my true goal is to worm my way into your hearts and minds so you'll invite me over and I can filch all your gherkins and olives out of the fridge in the dead of night. Wouldn't THAT be a kick in the head!

OTOH, perhaps I'm kinda like a big ol' tasty-looking apple, meant to be savored and enjoyed in spite of the couple of brown mooshy bits on the edges. Like Mom always said... just eat around 'em! Then again, maybe I'll fuck up your whole barrel. You just never know. (OK, I'm trying to work in an "Eat Me!" joke here, but aside from being horribly inappropriate, it's just not working out. And besides, I look more like a pear than an apple...)

Dunno what else to say. Feel free to say nothing yourself. It's been a trend lately.