No matter how noble (or not) a cause is, there will always be champions of the cause who seem to think the beautiful, diverse surrounding environment should be modified to their total satisfaction in name of that cause. Such defamers are militant idiots with the mindset of toddlers, and worse, authoritarians of their own stripe of dogma. Just because something isn’t the way they want doesn’t mean they it should be changed to appease a small minority or religious institutions.
Overviewed are several instances of people or groups that, whether they’re aware of it or not, need to grow the fuck up.
Dave Warwak, an Illinois middle school teacher, is refusing to return to work until his demands are met. His demands: that the school ceases serving milk and meat in the cafeteria, and that they remove posters advocating their consumption. He may even file child endangerment charges based on the premise that they school in feeding children “poison.” Warwak, as you may have surmised, is a vegan. Has been since January. When he was hired 8 years before, he had no issue with the lunch menu, but as a Johnny-come-lately to this cause célèbre, teaching children has taken a backseat to his gastronomical crusade. It doesn’t matter what the children want. It doesn’t matter what other faculty members want. Only his predilections matter. If he is fired, he won’t be a martyr. He’ll just be an idiot who didn’t know how to accept differences.
Kathy Griffin is in hot water. After accepting an Emmy for her show “My Life on the D-List”, she made an acceptance speech so offensive that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will not allow it to be aired on television. What did she say? Did she deny the holocaust? Perform an impromptu version of “The Aristrocrats”? Unleash a slew of racial epithets? Her crime: she didn’t thank Jesus. Upon being handed her useless Hollywood status symbol, Griffin joked: “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. …This award is my god now!” Catholic League President Bill Donohue was professionally outraged, calling her flirtation with the actually funny “hate speech.” Breaking one of the ten commandments is now a censorable offense. Deviation from or denial of the Judeo-Christian talking points will not be tolerated.
Social mores concerning language are another cause for consternation. In the CNN article about Kathy Griffin’s Emmy controversy, the newsprint style used to convey information is hopelessly bound to religion-based language taboos. What is deemed vulgar or offensive cannot be directly mentioned, only skirted around, lest people who hear the words every day, people who in all likelihood have used the words themselves be exposed to currently inappropriate groupings of letters. Case in point:
She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, “This award is my god now!”
I’m guessing she said “Fuck Jesus,” but the news outlet, whose predicated function is to convey information, refuses to divulge it. More effort was put forth giving a vague description of her remarks than would be exerted by including the statement of the quote.
The same goes for part of the report further into the article:
The organization may have another delicate issue to consider, this one involving an off-color fake music video that aired last December on “Saturday Night Live” and won a creative arts Emmy for best song. Andy Samberg of “SNL” said Saturday that he had yet to be asked by the TV academy to perform the tune with Timberlake on the Fox broadcast, but he was willing. Timberlake, on a concert tour, is scheduled to be in Los Angeles next weekend. The subject of their “(Blank) in a Box” video: wrapping a certain part of the male anatomy and presenting it to a loved one as a holiday present.
It’s “Dick in a Box”. Dick, a slang term for penis. Penis, not “a certain part of the male anatomy.” Would they treat body parts the same if this was an article about the ins-and-outs of bypass surgery? “The doctor then began working on a part of the human anatomy that pumps blood.”
Why do we pretend we have delicate sensibilities? Why do we defer to those who do? Adults are familiar with the words. Even schoolchildren know them. They’re nothing but verbal maps of physical, historical, philosophical and theoretical territories. It’s time society acknowledges this and grows the fuck up.
Update: The less skittish Reuters reports Griffin said “Suck it, Jesus.”
