There was a tutorial for a handmade letterpress in readymade a while back, (link here: http://www.readymade.com/projects/article/tabletop_letterpress). I don’t know useful it is, but a friend of mine and I have been talking about building one out here, so I’ll let you know if we end up doing it.

re: words. I don’t generally use words that
I used the word “gimpy” to mean “broken” around a friend in a wheelchair when I was young (having forgotten what he word actually meant) and even though she uses the word jokingly all the time now, the look on her face when we were 14 was enough to make me very careful with my speech. I never made using those words a habit, so I don’t get enough satisfaction out of using them to justify the potential hurt they might cause someone. I’ll use those words occasionally with friends who use them a lot, but I would never drop them in conversation someone I don’t know well.

I’ve been trying to be more specific with my speech in general lately, I find myself using the same six words to describe everything, and I notice a lot of my friends do it too. Too much slang and swearing makes me lazy, and it’s hard to broaden my vocabulary when everything is either “awesome” or “shitty”.

…

I am joking, of course!

I’m only going to get really pissed off at their word usage if I have some sort of point to make by getting pissed off. It’s best to save getting pissed off for when it really counts. If you do it all the time, it loses its power. Just like swearing. :-)

So, situation is certainly a factor in when words are used, too. :)

I’m bisexual, and use words like “queer” “gay”, “fairy” ect all the time. And I don’t mind one bit if others, gay or straight, use those words either. I may take exception to their tone but not to the words. They can make the PC “homosexual” sound just as bad (see above example with Sarah Palin. Ahem).

However, I’d like to encourage you to take a second look at your use of the word retarded. I work with retarded adults in my day job. They all have significant mental handicaps, but are well aware that they are, in fact, retarded. Now, YOU are likely using the word with clever double-meanings, in a way that steals the negative power of the word and destigmatizes. I can totally understand and believe that. But I can also tell you that if one of my clients heard you, due to the very nature of their disorder, they would likely not understand all these twinkling extra meanings. All they will hear is “bad thing=retarded=I’m bad”. That’s just the nature of the problem, unfortunately. Which is why I will shout “Dyke” off the rooftops without batting an eye, but encourage you to be careful in your use of the word retarded. I know you’ve worked in classrooms before, so I know that you know that not everyone with cognitive impairments are obvious. So, it’s often hard to know how your words are effecting those around you, at least in public. Honestly, in private, I use that word in just the same way. But I’ve worked hard to avoid using it in public after I’ve seen grown men in tears over hearing such a reference and feeling hurt at the stigma they feel. Because if there was clever double meaning involved in the conversation they overheard, they wouldn’t know it.

Anyways, just some food for thought. Love the bit about the cussing little girl though! How wonderful to teach her from such a young age to use the word appropriately, instead of assuming that she has to use words like “doo-doo” until she’s old enough to yell at her parents about it.

It is my mission to make nasty words completely and utterly powerless in the hands of the bigot. Take their language away, what have they got left? I mean, “humbug” used to be a REALLY NASTY word. But now, people say it almost with affection, like they’re witty for using such a quaint word to describe a downer-type person, and “But I still love you, so let’s go play” (pat)(pat).

I like this situation my sister had with one of her little girls: She was getting them ready one day, and Amelie either stubbed her toe or dropped something she viewed as valuable (I’m not sure which), but she said “Ah. Fuck.” My sister paused for a moment, letting the variable responses run through her head, and then … did nothing. She kept dressing them.

Unlike what the PC masses would like us to believe, Amelie has not turned into a potty mouth. She doesn’t go around swearing. She used it because something really REALLY upset/hurt her, so it was actually appropriate for the situation.

Words have a lot of power. It is my personal belief, however, that it is better to have power over words than to let them have power over us. It makes people easy to control. Why do you think so many of Bush’s bills were named with words like “Victory” and “Freedom”? Because people were allowing themselves to be manipulated by the words and threw a white canvas over intent.

I definitely think you should correct your students who use “gay” or “retarded” in a way that is obviously a slur. But I think you can say something like, “I would like if you used that word in a more appropriate way.” (I try not to use negative words when reprimanding something, because the brain does funny things when we try to remember phrases with “no/not/don’t” in them, ie: omits them completely. This has actually been scientifically proven, lol. Of all the studies…). ANYway (sorry to digress), engage them in exploring more appropriate, meaningful language. Offer another word. Or ask for respect.

Personally, I don’t think there are near enough words in our language. There are thoughts and ideas and expressions and feelings I’ve tried to describe that don’t exist. Also, sometimes, simple, sometimes crude language can be layered on top of a more complex idea in order to add depth and honestly … it can lend humor to even the most depressing situations.

Sometimes, we NEED to make fun of ourselves, of the things that cause us pain. I think it’s a form of healing to acknowledge the ugly and turn them into something that works FOR us and instead of working us.

I also realize this is a sensitive topic. It’s not like I go around shouting these words in every situation. But occasionally … they ARE appropriate. And that’s when I use them.

But in my day job I’m a teacher and the amount of time I spend trying to get bratty twelve year-olds to NOT call everything under the sun “gay” and “retarded” is enough to put me out of sorts. The way they are using these words is not okay. Because there is no irony in how they say it- they really do mean “this activity I do not enjoy is akin to homosexuality in that it is wrong and unnatural.” If I grant that every word has its place, it is only with the caveat that those places must be respected! Context matters. Audience matters. And fools who ought to know better (and not just children) are far, far too numerous and too likely to ignore the negative consequences of calling stuff gay without a clever context to cover them.

There are some words whose “double meaning” I don’t think I’ve ever taken advantage of. I’ve never found the need to. I can’t say that I never will, because every word does have its use, but with tens of thousands of words to pick from in the most word-saturated language in history, I’m not holding my breath waiting for that day to come.