Posted on 04/29/2003 4:39:16 AM PDT by SJackson
I cannot imagine what this person was thinking. No offense, but one of the last things on my mind, if I am Tommy Franks is to worry about the old jugs and pots in some museum. Sure they are on the list, but making sure our guys a$$e$ are not getting shot at is much further up the list. The day the "looters" hit those precious masterpieces, we were still under fire from the bad guys.
What a knucklehead this poster above is! Sheesh.
We sawon Foxnews people running out of the museum with stuff. And then they showed a lot of broken stuff.
I just hope all the clay tablets were not broken.
I don't think he was suggesting that. Since the adjective for which you are seeking a substitute has no real meaning that is not carried equally well by an exclamation point, there is no need for a substitute. Anyone who grew up in a time when that adjective was not in common use, has no problem expressing themselves without it. Someone who's never known a time when that adjective hasn't been a part of the general lexicon, is probably a juvenile by definition.
However, to help you find a substitute, how about "freaking?" Oh--never mind--that might be politically incorrect, since it might disparage freaks, and thus discourage diversity. Well, we'll just have to make up a new one... Let's see... How about "frixing?" That might do, since it doesn't have any real meaning either, but as soon as you start to explain for what you are using it as a substitute, people may just turn and say, "Silly rudeboy! Frix are for kids!"
Furthermore, and apart from the fact that the internet encourages colloquial language, the internet spawns its own cant, as is visible here everyday.
Pity, Pity. Steyn is perfectly right and you are ridiculous. When you get over your hissy fit, you might find the time to realize that museum pieces are just material objects. They do not carry the meaning of a civilization. Only human minds and spirits do that. At the time of the looting, the US forces were protecting the lives and material property that were valuable for the future of our country and Iraq. There were value judgments made as to what is important. Not all things can be done at all times, especially in war, and especially in the closing days of a war. Only silly dilletants would try to argue that, having to make a choice, the US command made the wrong choice.
Your deep angst only betrays another agenda. Oh my, you did not like this war even before this particular event, did you. Beware of your perception of events that convince you of your original premise.
The idea is that rather than resorting to crude obscenities, try to develop the ability to articulate what you mean. When you resort to obscenity, you betray your inability to ariculate your mind. This is the real reason why vulgarity is seen as juvenile. What it means precisely is that the one who uses vulgarity is undeveloped.
Honestly, the best suggestion to 1rudeboy is to try to learn the ability to articulate what you think or want to think. That struggle is rewarding in itself as it develops one's awareness of himself. Good luck.
I beg to differ. Since this thread is attached to an article by Mark Steyn, I'd like to point out that he is quite capabale of expressing anything he likes, without ever using what some consider offensive words. The word "offensive" is subjective, of course, but I think it fair to say that use of such words has never promoted the thesis of an argument. Your desire to use them to express a level of frustration is similar to those on the Internet who think that capitalizing every letter makes their point stronger. To most of us, it is more reminiscent of the louder and louder shouting before a fight at the schoolyard. If the person with whom you are having a discussion is incapable of understanding your argument through the use of "high English", or as we oldtimers like to call it, "English," it is doubtful that shouting and using expletive substitutes will convince them of your erudition and the verity of your point of view.
Furthermore, and apart from the fact that the internet encourages colloquial language, the internet spawns its own cant, as is visible here everyday.
Apart from the fact that the Internet is a bunch of computers and routers and cannot encourage anything, I think that the "spawning of its own cant' is reflective of the breakdown in civility lately, evinced in everyday life from TV sitcoms to Free Republic to the U.S. Senate. That doesn't make it a good thing!
Honestly, the best suggestion to 1rudeboy is to try to learn the ability to articulate what you think or want to think. That struggle is rewarding in itself as it develops one's awareness of himself. Good luck.
That is pretty much what I was saying in my first paragraph, albeit somewhat less bluntly. I have found that when addressing close family members you may be direct, but when trying to enlighten strangers, humor helps. So I added the second paragraph. When he posted his reply to my comment, I was more direct, since I had points of his to answer. Thanks for the comments, though.
I try to respect the mores of where I am. It isn't accepted by most of the many Christians around here to even say "hell," let alone F@CK F@CK F@CK F@CK F@CK F@CK F@CK.
As Chesterton, I believe, said: A gentleman is one who never offends someone else unintentionally.
It is a shame that it happened. I don't believe anyone in our government or military intended it to happen. If nothing else, they would know it would look very bad to the rest of the world. And I do believe that we will work with the Iraqis to recover their treasures.
Preserving museum artifacts wasn't even on the top 50 list of reasons to invade Iraq.
The US did not 'stand by' while the looting occurred. The troops weren't there vacationing.
Those artifacts aren't irreplacable. With a real economy and real ties with the civilized world, surely much more treasure will be dug up from the sand than under an impoverished, backwards psycho-state. Please consider all sides of the story.
You accuse Steyn of being the equivalent of a library burner....fortunately Steyn is doing more advancing civilization with his writings than you are dragging it down with yours.
Mesopotamia may be "the cradle of civilization," but civilization learned to walk and talk and graduated to long pants in Greece and Rome and London and North America and Australia and India and Japan and St Lucia and Papua New Guinea, and what was once the cradle became, in the last four decades, the toilet of civilization a place incapable of inventing the industrial shredder but anxious to import them for the purpose of feeding human beings into.
Absolutely right on target!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.