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re: swearing good

I appreciate your efforts to address the question.  I do not agree with you,
but at least you gave reasons.  I wonder how far you would extend your
beliefs on language use.  You say that the L has no "grandma" or "Pat
Robertson" types online.  I would hope that you are being rhetorical rather
than labeling or stereotyping as 2nd class those who would side with Pat
Robertson or those who happen to be "grandmas."  Do you use such language in
your classroom (a classroom which I assume is filled with enlightened
people).  Did you use such language when being interviewed for your job?  Do
you employ such language in faculty meetings, staff meetings, meetings with
your alums, your university academic officers?  Would you employ such
language when meeting some of those Wisconsin gramdmas who through their tax
dollar pay the bills of your university and your salary? While I question
that the use of the "N" word is appropriate in any setting (and I thought F.
Lee Bailey was a disgrace in his use of the term--and BTW he was enploying
it in the same context you defend), do you seriously think such a word is
appropriate on the CEDA-L?  Just what kind of public uproar would be caused
if someone used that word on the L? My argument has been based on contextual
and social settings, and the use of such language is still inappropriate in
certain public settings.  

Glen Strickland

At 12:44 PM 7/5/96 -0500, you wrote:
>I will keep this brief as to not take up too much bandwidth.
>
>Glen asks a legitimate question and claims dave and yuri have ignored 
>it.  Don't know if that is true, but i will take a stab at a direct 
>answer so glen can't claim he is right just because a direct answer isn't 
>given.
>
>I think that language should be acceptable at all places and at all 
>times.  I am a firm believer in MOI (never won my teams many arguments on 
>the media topic, but I still believe it).  We should all be able to say 
>what we want, when we want.  Especially here on CEDA-L.  We are all 
>collegues and should be able to handle it if yuri says "fuck you".  
>What's the big deal.  I expected knee-jerk reactions to language choice 
>from Pat Robertson and my grandma, not the people here.  
>
>Now I am assuming (sorry if I am wrong) that Glen is speaking of red flag 
>words like "nigger" when he talks about drawing a line for language 
>somewhere.  What's the big deal.  Nothing pissed me off (made me angry, 
>not a bodily function) more than the use of "The N word" on the news 
>during the OJ trial.  That phrase only adds to the words power.  Let the 
>MOI sort out language by letting people say what they want.  Tarantino 
>said it best when attacked for the number of times "nigger" appeared in 
>Pulp Fiction when he said "when a word has that much power, we should be 
>shouting it from the tallest building to make it less powerful."  
>
>In short, Glen, I don't think any lines should be drawn.
>
>
>
>UW Oshkosh Debate Team
>Patrick J. Osowski, Director
>	 debate@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu
>
Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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