This is the mail archive of the
cygwin-talk@cygwin.com
mailing list for the cygwin project.
RE: How can any grown adult use the term "potty-mouth" without cringing in embarassment?
- From: "Dave Korn" <dave dot korn at artimi dot com>
- To: "'Talk Amongst Yourselves'" <cygwin-talk at cygwin dot com>
- Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 20:18:38 -0000
- Subject: RE: How can any grown adult use the term "potty-mouth" without cringing in embarassment?
- Reply-to: Talk Amongst Yourselves <cygwin-talk at cygwin dot com>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cygwin-talk-owner On Behalf Of Robb, Sam
> Sent: 14 January 2005 20:07
> > a) The term "potty mouth" is a euphemism for "profanity"
> > and/or "obscenity" and/or "swearing".
>
> True; but the rest of your argument is predicated on the
> idea that "potty mount" is *only* a euphemism. IMHO, there
> are some nuances implied by using the term.
>
> In my experience, at least, it's used primarily when a child
> says something profane *primarily* to offend, embarass, or
> just to make someone who objects to that sort of language
> uncomfortable. They don't care about the word itself, they
> just want to get a reaction out of someone else.
Fair point. I may even have not looked too hard for nuance of meaning to the
term, since what I was writing was really rhetoric or polemic, guised as
syllogism. So I'm a sophist. So sue me.
> Use of the term was intended, I think, to convey the idea
> that leaving the (purportedly) obscene material in the
> fortune data files as plain text didn't really serve any
> useful purpose, unless that purpose was to intentionally
> offend.
I'm not sure. Since it was plainly established from the word go that it was
meant to be ROT13'd, it would be paranoia to suggest it was intentional. I
didn't see anyone at any time suggest that this was a deliberate provocation; as
far as I was aware everyone accepted that it was a mistake.
No, I think the use of the term was intended in a purely perjorative sense, to
deny that the material could possibly have any worth, to belittle it. It was a
value judgement that attempted to impose the values of the person who used the
term on the debate.
cheers,
DaveK
--
Can't think of a witty .sigline today....