On the altering of names...

J

John/az2

New member
I hope that I can approach this topic with tact and diplomacy. If not, then a full frontal assault may have to do! :)

I have read a lot on this board and overall the average post is witty, well thought-out, and intelligent.

There are times, though, when I find myself distracted from the message of the post by the altered names that we give our favorite protagonists.

For example: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Grubmint
Governmink
Congress critter
Klinton
Federales
Dumbcrats
Republijerks
Etc.[/quote]

I have been guilty of this at times, as well.

However, in my quest for improvement I have discovered that such things come across as elementary school playground taunts.

I believe that we can show our disgust and outrage in less juvenile ways than this, and at the same time make our communications clearer and less distracting from the message we wish to relay.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely the observed opinion of the poster, and should have no effect on the reader except as he/she allows it.) :)



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John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..."

http://www.countdown9199.com
 
Well put, and I agree, but please don't call me on it when/if I finally get my money in to the CMT and rave about buying my Garrand from the "Guvment".

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Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap?
 
Well, maybe John, but I thought "Republocrats" would be good shorthand for "The present-day monolithic Republican and Democrat oligarchy which is leading America down the slippery slope to Socialism". :D

(Oy! I'll catch it for THIS one...)
 
Now, some of those names are juvenile and others, I believe, fall within the realm of legitimate criticism. "Republijerk" is not even clever, let alone insightful in any way. "Congress critter," on the other hand, paints a picture of tiny, furtive mammals, busily burrowing away at an unknown task and squinting at the seldom-seen sun.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that's somewhat accurate.
 
I find it significant that the first 2 responders were relative newcomers to TFL. John, you have a good point. A public forum is not a private conversation, and a post should not be grafitti.




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Want to feel your age?Check it out. http://web.superb.net/boy/age1.html
 
I agree also. In addition, I've been appalled and embarrassed by the spelling and gramatical errors in some posts. I am not being facetious. I recognize that we all make typographical errors occasionally, but I think that it paints a negative picture of gun enthusiasts in the minds of visitors to TFL when they read "there" instead of "their", etc. I hope this observation will be taken in the constructive manner in which it is offerred.
 
Grammatical errors are seen everywhere, even in books if you read close enough. We cannot help it that we don't have editors! I write my responses in Win-word and then cut and paste them on the forum. It has been the best editor that I've found.

Just thought I would add that for those who were unaware of this feature.
I cannot live without my spell check. I'm afraid though that, Govermink will be in underlined in red, meaning that it's not in the dictionary of Win-word. LOL

:D
J


[This message has been edited by LadydeeJ (edited August 05, 1999).]
 
"...damn all those who dare deviate! Bear no mind to those who's insolence attempts to steer us from normalcy! Those who are loose of spirit and weak of mind shall not deter us from Utopia!"-- :(
 
Is socialist scum still acceptable?

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"
 
I agree that name-calling is juvenile, and that an abundance of grammatical errors, at best, indicate laziness. However, some terms do in fact have their place, as they give a more accurate description of something than any other word or phrase does. Terms like Republocrats, and congress critter, I like.


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"I am convinced that we can do to guns what we've done to drugs: create a multi-billion dollar underground market over which we have absolutely no control."

George L. Roman

"The U.S. Constitution may be flawed, but it's a whole lot better than what we have now."

"If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we put Clinton there?"

-Anonymous
 
Once again I agree LoneStar. Words, opinions and name calling are ok. It's the context of how those words are used that is of importance.
You can spot the "humorous" writer and the …ahem… "not so humorous" writer instantly.
Just a readers point of view,
J
 
Right on Lonestar!

Being a writer by profession, I feel the same. Besides, words like sheeple are often fun to use when venting about gun control and such. They certainly do take away from one's credibility when one is trying to be serious.

As with weapons...choose your words carefully.

- Anthony
 
Anthony, could you please not call them weapons? They're inanimate firearms.

smile.gif

wink2.gif
 
I suppose the purpose of this thread was to bring to the attention of those that post here that the adulteration of names can serve two purposes.

The first, such as, Republocrat, First Felon, and Congress Critter, describe suscinctly (sp?) what we are trying to say.

The second, an adulteration that detracts from, instead of adds to the message being conveyed. These come across as the frustrated taunting I heard as a child in the school yards.

I have to ask myself if the words I am using will enhance my message or degrade it.

HCI, PAX, the government and the media, have chosen words that are recognized by the majority to serve their purposes. We need to do the same.

I'm not the "Thought Police" and I'm certainly NOT going to call anyone on it! :) I just wanted to post this as a "heads up!" :)

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John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..."

http://www.countdown9199.com



[This message has been edited by John/az2 (edited August 05, 1999).]
 
GUILTY AS CHARGED! I've used these names and many more. Sometimes to express humor and sometimes to show displeasure with certian groups/people/person. Some times its an outright insult! So what? I write the way I feel, it's just me. And yes, I make spelling and grammer mistakes along with plain old typos. Again, that's just me.
No big deal. We got bigger fish to fry.

Lighten up, will ya?
 
whigs
tories

been happening for awhile...

part of it is incrowd lingo
a way for a group to bond against an enemy
we don't show respect for those we hold in contempt

dZ
 
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