Via Atrios:
While it is not shown on the clip, and I no longer watch Morning Joe because of the endless idiocy of the two hosts, it is pretty clear what happened here- Time’s Jay Carney told a story off camera about Rahm Emanuel’s habit of using the word “fuck,” but when Carney told the story, he just used the initial “f-” to let them know what he meant. Scarborough then goes on camera and passes on the story, but forgets to use initials, and just blurts out “screaming fuck you at the top of their lungs.”
There are several really funny things about this story. The first is the way Scarborough blurted it out- it was casual, as if he has more than a passing acquaintance with the f-word himself. Someone who really did get his panties in a knot when people used curse words would not be able to effortlessly blurt that out as he did in that clip.
Second, it points out how twisted the inside the beltway priorities still are- these knuckleheads are talking off camera, all aghast that Emanuel has told people to fuck off, and think this is somehow a great sin. It is truly bizarre for a number of reasons, especially for folks who worship “average” and “ordinary” Americans. Average and ordinary Americans use profane language. Go to a sporting event. Watch a movie not made by Disney. Go to the mall. Spend thirty seconds within a hundred yards of any military unit anywhere (I remember some cadences we sang during PT that would make Andrew Dice Clay blush). Or a police department. Or a fire department. People swear. You may not like it, but it is what it is.
But what is even weirder is that these chowderheads are upset about it. Where the hell are their priorities? Just this morning comes the news that AIG has been given another $30 billion bucks, and that is billion with a “b.” We also learned that the Treasury just gave banks $150 billion in tax breaks, on top of the $700 billion in free loot they got from us.
Our government is actively f–king the American public in what looks to be systematic looting, and what has some in our media upset is that Obama’s chief of staff may be a potty mouth. Let me be the first to tell these idiots to go Cheney themselves.
*** Update ***
Here is Obama roasting Emanuel in 2005:
Skip to about five minutes in for a joke about Rahm and the middle finger.
*** Update ***
So, it turns out that Joe is a massive hypocrite. Shocking, I am sure. The funniest thing about this is that Joe hails from the Redneck Riviera in Florida, where the f-bomb is not an unknown word.
gbear
Fucking January 20th can not fucking come fucking fast enough.
Incertus
I have never understood the mindset that suggests youthful ears will be harmed by curse words, and I doubt I ever will. And even if there were adverse effects to hearing them, what kid has Morning Joe on tv?
Kallisti
I’d happily scream "Fuck you!" at Joe if it makes him feel better.
I do think it is kinda’ funny that he spends the next minute completely unaware he said the naughty.
smiley
That has puzzled me too. Nearly everyone swears. Everyone may not use certain words but they certainly use others. Who’s fooling whom when they use "F-in’ A" or friggin’, or frakin’?
It’s amazing how much more accepted profane language is now. It used to be only Hell and Damn were acceptable on TV. Now Shit and Bullshit are acceptable on later night cable dramas. It won’t be too long before Fuck is too.
John Cole
My mother thinks that one reason for the escalation in violence in the country is that swear words no longer have their meaning. She thinks we need some new ones, because the old ones no longer have any impact.
Brian J
Does he use the word carelessly, as in telling people to "fuck off" on a regular basis, in a way that would indicate disrespect or something like that? In other words, does he use the word in a way that would indicate a poor temperament, like getting ridiculous angry at absolutely nothing? Or does he simply use the word in the way John describes above, fairly casually and possibly when getting very angry?
If it was a matter of temperament, then his critics might have something. But I really, really doubt that this is the case. Obama has shown to be a pretty good judge of character so far, and he’s known Emmanuel for a long time, so why would he pick someone who could, in theory, go nuts over small stuff so easily?
jake 4 that 1
Let me be the first to suggest ‘Cheney’ as a new swear word. Santorum could be used a lot more too.
Tom Q
Your main point — the hypocrisy of freaking out when words are heard on TV that are ubiquitous in life — is of course primary.
But another, parallel thing that recently occurred to me: is there anyplace besides government and the news media where people wear coat-and-tie on a daily basis? Ever since Bill Gates took over the world in a sports shirt, even the most conservative big city companies have gone to casual wear. Yet on TV you’d think it was anywhere from 1940 to 1990 — it’s expected you dress up. Isn’t this another illustration that these folks live in a bubble that they think is everyday America but which is manifestly not? And is it part of what leads them to such evidence-free convictions as "we’re a center-right country"?
Napoleon
Andy Borowitz weighs in on MSNBC
Napoleon
David Broder maintains that Clinton should have resigned because he sullied the office of President with a BJ, yet has been completely silent about a President who has caused the death of 100s of thousands on a lie, has trashed the Constitution, etc, etc. I truly think the political and media culture in Washington is completely twisted and broken.
gex
These people have taken the word "values" and have done to it what they have done to the words "patriot" and "freedom". I recoil a bit when I hear these words because of how the right wing uses them.
For them, values means avoiding saying the word "fuck" while fucking up everything. And sure, they called us terrorist-sympathizing traitorous un-Americans, but they did it without cussing, so it was civil.
It is so maddening to deal with an opposition where words no longer mean anything. Whatever jumble of syllables comes out, just take it to mean something bad about liberals. Also, too, Six-pack!
Smith
God forbid people’s delicate sensibilities are upset by a mere word. I agree that there probably is too much swearing, but the sad fact is there will be more protest against Morning Joe or Rahmbo using the "f" word then the nonsense Bush is perpetuating his last few weeks in office.
Look for the FCC to fine MSNBC and for "millions" of Americans to register their (fake) outrage. "Think of the children"……
Dulcie
I heard it live this morning – it was qute funny. Joe’s wife sent him a text message – apparently she was not pleased that he used the word while his school age child was watching.
BP
I rarely turn on the TV in the morning. Today I did and had the misfortune of seeing this "event" live. I was treated to the spectacle of children in middle-aged bodies spending fifteen minutes or so, in essence, blushing and giggling about the fact that someone was sure to tell the teacher about little Joey using a bad word and he would be in big, big trouble.
If this wasn’t bad enough, they spent the next twenty minutes or so agreeing that Rahm was an excellent choice for White House Cheif of Staff because he would be sure to keep Pelosi and Reid in line by preventing them from going "too far left."
I wish just once someone would ask these airheads just what the fuck specifically is so far "left" about anything that Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid has ever proposed. Of course, asking "what the fuck" of these people would only serve to generate more blushes and giggles and they’d never get around to answering the question.
Incertus
@John Cole: Maybe we ought to go rooting through Shakespeare and find some. Or we can work with odd combinations of our own. I like calling people "fuckneck" because it confuses them just long enough for any possible retort to come off as weak.
Terri
Personally, I’d like to thank the individual who invented the word "fuck" and it’s many incarnations.
Just being able to let it fly verbally, has, from time to time, kept me off the proverbial tall building with an automatic rifle.
Especially the last 8 years.
dewberry
@Incertus:
Something about "codpiece" would be most appropriate.
The weirder part in the clip is when Mika says, "Listen to mommy" and then (after this part) she starts texting MSNBC execs trying to "fix it for you honey."
Comrade Stuck
@gbear:
Fuckin’ A!
Atanarjuat
John Cole said:
Indeed, which is why you dedicated an entire post to show your concern about how upset conservatives are about potty mouths.
Me thinks that your own pearls are being clutched a bit too tightly, Mr. Cole. However, a fainting couch could come in handy if you think Mr. Scarborough should be spanked on the fanny for his oral malfunction.
– A Country Down For the Count
Comrade Stuck
We now use the all purpose dirty word in the Funhouse,
Republican.
That sure is republicaned up
Hyperion
I imagine David Broder’s head would esplode if someone said fuck to him. My reaction to the supplied video focuses on the companions of Scarborough:
Exactly. What dorks.
bago
Required viewing.
Tom65
Here we go with the fucking pearl-clutching (again).
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Atanarjuat
Who is this fucking asshole?
Incertus
@Atanarjuat:
We survived King George the Lesser. The least you can do is grow some ovaries and learn to deal.
Skullduggery
Besides not saying the word, us Americans also never have sex before marriage.
Sometimes I think people misunderstand the adage "perception isn’t the most important thing in politics, it’s the only thing in politics." Having a tea party with your stuffed animals doesn’t mean that you have friends.
If only people got half as outraged about actual pollution in the air rather than fainting over the figurative pollution.
Zifnab
Whenever a difficult topic of conversation comes up, I do so love watching all forms of speech Nazis spill out of the woodwork to loudly and obnoxiously declare that certain people are to be physically silenced lest they contaminant the idea space with naughty language.
I’m so sick and tired of censorship for censorship’s sake. If you don’t like hearing swear words, go back into your cave and live out your days in the seclusion of the monastery. Meanwhile, adults are talking.
Zifnab
A man who loves his pie.
Rick Taylor
They have plenty of money. Whatever happens, they’ll be fine. They don’t care.
TheFountainHead
I got yer pearls right here!!!
Atanarjuat
Incertus, the following linked image refutes your snarkiness far more than any written response I care to make at the moment:
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/329/highdoomet7.jpg
Congratulations, liberals. You’ve got America exactly where you wanted it all along.
– A Country Fighting for its Very Existence
Zuzu's Petals
Anybody remember Joe et al being so twisty about Cheney’s use of the f-word on the Senate floor?
Me either.
Comrade Jake
I’m just surprised Joe Scarborough isn’t blowing his top over the fact that Obama will today sit down with an incredibly unpopular, aggressive world leader, without any fucking preconditions.
h/t: TPM
Incertus
@Atanarjuat: Whatever else happens, man, I want you to hang around here, because you never fail to remind me how wonderful it is to have a working frontal lobe.
Comrade Tax Analyst
With all due respect, John, I think your mother is fucking wrong.
But what the fuck do I know?
uila
It’s the whole "civility" vs "decency" thing. Greenwald recently linked to a classic post about this at Sadly No. Put me down on the side of decency every time.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
I caught the aftermath of Joe saying "fuck" this morning, and somehow restrained myself from heaving a small Inuit sculpture at Smirking Mika.
But Obama’s joke, Rahm’s priceless reaction, and the follow-up were all great. "Has he ever flashed that little stubby thing at you? That’s appalling!"
Zuzu's Petals
Great clip of Obama roasting Emmanuel…but he needs to work on his comic timing.
Zifnab
Cheers to that.
Comrade Jake
I blame motherfucking Bill fucking Clinton.
TheFountainHead
This seems appropriate, and who needs an excuse to bring Monty Python to the party?
Tsulagi
While it seems Emanuel’s potty mouth has been outed, there is no proof the inspiration for the Nailin Palin documentary uses that dirty word. So no equivalence. Even though with five kids it’s apparent the new wingnut standard bearer walks the talk fucking away like a energizer snow bunny.
JGabriel
So, Politico has a story with a real, on-the-record source saying what a smart, wonderful cookie Sarah Palin is, and that she does too know that Africa is a continent and who the signatories to NAFTA are.
Problem is, the source is Steve Biegun, apparently Palin’s self-described foreign policy tutor – which is cause enough to look at him askance as a neutral or honest observer.
Second problem? Biegun’s the moron who approved the prank Sarkozy call:
A Confederacy of Jackasses, I swear.
.
Zuzu's Petals
Atanarjuat says:
Poopyman
Meh. I figure everybody’s gah-gah because the bad ol’ FCC is gonna come bust down the door. Of course, they’ve completely forgotten that the FCC has not only become toothless, it’s become a toothless right-wing organism that only pays attention to those dirty left-wing programs.
Good eye-pop by Barnicle, though.
AkaDad
Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Blame America First™ club?
EL
Good idea Zuzu
A dip I make every year at Thanksgiving
Wasabi Apricot dip
1 -2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/4 c – 1/2 c Apricot Jam
1/4 – 1/2 cup Sour Cream
1-3 tablespoons wasabi, depending on how hot your wasabi is
A recipe particularly appropriate for Atanarjuat because it requires a lot of adjustment to taste, and can take up lots of time. Further, given different palates, Atanarjuat can spend his time arguing the merits of different combinations, and trashing those who disagree with him.
Thanks. We’re delighted we’ve got America back to her original ideals, which are liberal and humanist.
jeff
The right will always hold everyone they don’t like to a higher morality. They’ve been whining for so long it no longer has any effect. I’d imagine their ratings will really start to tank soon. The majority of the country has moved on.
ksmiami
Why the fuck even listen to these fucking asshats anyway?
Signed,
A liberally conservative potty mouth girl.
Napoleon
Is that you Sarah Silverman?
4tehlulz
>>– A Country Fighting for its Very Existence
And you’re fighting the all-important BATTLE OF THE INTERWEBS; you’re doing your country proud.
Englischlehrer
I am the proud owner of a homemade, dark gray shirt with ironed on red letters saying: "Go Cheney Yourself!". I have been afraid to wear it when flying home to the States but maybe next year it’ll be okay again.
Obama’s gonna reduce aka "close" guantanamo and that is one of the first steps to getting the people who really hate us enough to want to kill us to at least sit down and have a mint tea before they leave on their missions and they’ll listen to what Obama has to say. A huge move but still not as strong as the "left" want I’m sure but hey, he’s trying…
oh to be a fly on the wall of Bush v. Obama in the Oval Office today. Sounds Like talking to your asshole father-in-law whose alcoholism has ruined the family and you’re there to pick up the john deere before never letting that asshole in your house again.
ksmiami
I am not Sarah Silverman, but I definitely have an affinity for the gal. Besides, I read somewhere that in general, people who use the f-word have a pretty high IQ level. Well, so do people with Tourette’s, but even after 8 years of Republican motherfuckers, I am not afflicted with that disease. Over and out…
J.
About AIG, guess where much (if not most) of that money is going, John? To executives, to pay not only their ridiculously high salaries but their even more ridiculous bonuses. I kid you not. And it makes me sick.
I had lunch the other day with a friend whose spouse was hired by AIG early this summer. I asked my friend if his wife still had her job. He immediately stated his wife had "a guaranteed contract." I asked what that meant. He said it meant she had a guaranteed salary and a guaranteed $400,000 bonus coming to her in March. And she is not even a top executive! I was stunned and asked him if he thought it was fair that government, i.e., taxpayer, money should be spent on paying executive salaries and bonuses for a company that should be bankrupt. And you know what he said? "Not my problem. We got bills to pay." That may be the case, but I would prefer they not pay them with my money.
For the record, I would be thrilled if Rahm Emanuel and the Obama administration said FU to more companies (like AIG) asking or looking for handouts. And yes, Joe Scarborough is an idiot.
Hey, how ’bout them Giants? 8 – 1 and leading the entire NFC. Yeah, baby. Now there’s a change I can believe in.
charlotte
Oh, dear God, NO! Having heard the naughty on Morning Blow I am now burning with a desire to fuck the mailman!! While on Ambien. Where is the FCC when we need it?
I think the Obama decade is going to be tough but swell.
The idea that Washington isn’t populated by Type A asshole workaholics who curse like sailors and run people into the ground in pursuit of national greatness is kinda preposterous. And all these MSNBC assholes know it. Even come to Mommy, honey, Mika.
And, oh yeah, Pelosi and Reid haven’t figured out that Obama is centrist. LOL! Because they haven’t figured out that they are too?
res ipsa loquitur
Rahm Emmanuel telling someone somewhere "Fuck You!": Bad.
The Vice President of the United States telling a sitting U.S. Senator to "Go fuck yourself" on the floor of the U.S. Senate: Okay.
Just making sure I have these rules straight for future reference.
Also looking forward to Biden telling John Kyl to eat shit and die during Kyl’s first filibuster.
Atanarjuat
Incertus said:
Is that all you have left, Incertus? Just one working frontal lobe? I wonder, is that a requirement for radical, far-left ideas to take root in one’s brain?
I suppose that makes sense, otherwise how could the great Liberal Hive Mind maintain its grip on all its nodding minions?
I’ll file this away in "the more you know" file for future reference. Thanks!
– A Country Sucker Punched
Face
I’m sure if that kid was in school, there’s NO WAY he would have heard that word used. No chance.
cain
@Atanarjuat:
Of course, you missed the previous panel where Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove were gang raping and bitch slapping the poor bastard. You can blame those three for leaving the country out for the raven.
Country First!
cain
tigrismus
– A Country Down For the Count
Ah-ah!
Ash Can
@Incertus:
@John Cole:
These two posts touch on the reason Joe Scarborough shouldn’t drop f-bombs on camera. While he can say (and, as I understand, has said) far worse things on camera, none of them involving technical profanity, F-bombs have their time and their place, for the simple reason that they, like any words, are made to be useful. Words are the arsenal by which a speaker/writer advances his/her agenda. When words get devalued through overuse or misuse, every writer/speaker suffers the collateral damage. To devalue the almighty f-bomb to the point where anyone can say it anywhere, well crap, I don’t want to have to replace it with a longer, less elegant, and less focused word like "cheney" to get the same message across.
The other part of this is the issue of dropping f-bombs in the presence of younger or more sensitive listeners. Politeness is the string that holds civilization together (there’s a reason a densely populated area such as Japan can get though its daily routines without its citizens choking the bejeezus out of each other on a regular basis). Being civil and holding back f-bombs in the company of absolute strangers as a matter of routine is simply the civil thing to do. Of course, context is paramount — here at BJ we’re nearly all strangers, but the context of the community is eminently suitable for words that wouldn’t be acceptable elsewhere.
Regarding exposing kids to f-bombs and such, this involves both of my previous points. Since kids are far less familiar with the nuances of both words and social interaction, allowing them free rein with profanity will produce all the more collateral communication damage. To illustrate using a personal example, I explain to Bottle Rocket (who, of course, is being exposed to naughty words at school) that certain words can be, and are, used for the express purpose of hurting others’ feelings, and to avoid hurt feelings those words can be used only around people who already understand that you mean no harm by using them. In other words, if he’s goofing around with his buddies and f-bombs get tossed among them and no one else overhears or takes offense, I’m not going to worry about it.
Of course, if "to f-bomb or not to f-bomb" were the most difficult issue facing our society today, this world would be a far, far better place.
cain
@ksmiami:
That reminds me of a south park episode that had me dying of laughter. Cartman had decided he would pretend he had Tourette’s and would just say whatever the hell he wanted. Their depiction of other kids with Tourettes was pretty funny too. Of course, Cartman got his in the end. :-) One of the best episodes ever!
cain
Cyrus
@Dulcie:
If this "for the children!!!!" attitude was all there was to it, I would understand the concern. If a child of, say, six years old, heard "fuck" used casually, I’d be worried about them not yet having the social consciousness to know when not to use it. I know I put my own foot in my mouth once in the middle of class when I was eight or nine – how was I supposed to know that "Tintin" comic books weren’t a good guide for talking about racial issues? Maybe a child psychologist or an actual parent could tell me when they think the "safe" age is.
But I think everyone I’ve met who was 10 years old or older and didn’t have a diagnosable mental disability knows they should keep their speech G-rated around authority figures and unfamiliar people, don’t they? And how many six-year-olds watch morning political talk shows or TV dramas after 9 p.m.?
Brian J
This reminded me of that classic line from one of the flashback episodes of "The Simpsons," when Marge and Homer were in bed watching television with some moaning in the background. Marge said, "You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn’t even notice. Yeesh!"
Brian J
I’d like to know that, too.
ksmiami
Shorter Ash Can: "Oh, dear, protect the children!!!!"
Comrade Tax Analyst
Ah, this discussion brings to mind a long ago episode involving my older brother David’s youngest child. When she was about 4 or 5 she was having a stayover with him…I was sharing a rental house with him, so I was around when the kids came over. Anyway, they had fun and she was playing in the room she stayed in, but it was bedtime, so Dave goes, "Well, Whitney, its time to go to bed, so why don’t we put any all your toys and stuff?" And she very innocently, but directly looks at him and says, "Fut that, Daddy".
His mouth fell open and I his eyes starting rolling around…speechless…it took him about 45 seconds to find an appropriate way to re-present his suggestion to get a suitable response. I was gasping for air, trying not to succumb to hysterical laughter as I checked it all out from the hallway just outside the open door.
Sojourner
The first time Scarborough has ever said anything that stopped me dead in my tracks. Watching Mika try to walk it back was hilarious but Barnacle’s reaction was priceless.
An unusual way to start the work week.
Comrade Darkness
I don’t trust people whose comic timing is too good. They can quit their day jobs, and often have to.
Punchy
This is why I choose to never swear on this website.
lilly Von Schtupp
In our house, we long ago started referring to the talking heads as the "blue dress press". They really do choose to be offended over the darndest things.
JenJen
I was watching this morning, and the Jay Carney story did occur on-air. He said that as a cub reporter in the nineties, he recalled some White House story he filed, and that Emanuel was angry about it, called him up on a clunky cell phone and screamed, "F You, F You, F You."
Everyone on the panel laughed about it; it did happen on-air no matter what Mika says.
It was actually a pretty good story, Carney! Joe just f’d up when re-telling it. Epic Fail, right?
smiley
@Comrade Tax Analyst:
That reminds me of the You Tube video of the very cute little girl talking with her off-camera mother about monsters. I don’t remember the exact quote but is was something like, "I’m going to kick their ass." The mother lost it. Very cute. They hear that stuff, repeat it, but just don’t know what it means.
DougJ
But Joe Scar governs from the center-right so that’s okay. When he starts taking his cues from the MoveOn crowd, then his penchant for profanity will become problematic.
At least he didn’t make a joke about Nancy Reagan or scream about his loss in NH. That would be problematic.
Incertus
@Ash Can: Your post makes me wonder if you’ve been reading Heinlein, since one of your points seems to echo his philosophy about politeness being the grease that lubricates personal interactions. I think his overall point is a fair one, but I also think that you overstate 1) the amount of civility necessary for large groups of people to live together in relative peace and 2) the level to which profanity lowers the overall amount of civility.
I think your first point was the most relevant–you don’t want the f-bomb dropped casually because you like the power it once had and want to pull it out only for special occasions. You’re right–casual use does deflate the power of the word, but I think that’s a good thing for this reason. It’s a curse word that’s directly related to sexual activity, and I’d just as soon get past the point where we use references to sexual activity as curses or insults. The more we defang those words, the better. We’re fucked up enough when it comes to our attitudes about sex without reinforcing it by turning descriptors into curses.
Atanarjuat
Incertus said:
I’ve heard this said many times by mushy-headed liberals, but when it comes time to matching courage to their convictions, these same liberals are notably silent.
Case in point: the N-word, like the F-bomb, has a great deal of potency and is quite profane to hear in civil society, but you don’t see any liberals trying to "defang" this particular word — especially in front of an African American within nose-punching reach.
Keep puffing up those chests, liberals. All of you look brave…really!
– A Country Blindsided
Joshau Norton
They’d better get used to it. Rahm uses the F-bomb more than a Waylan and Madame skit. As I’m quite sure most of the DC insiders do. Anyone who’s ever listened to the Nixon tapes heard potty mouth of Olympic proportions.
TR
A spoof. If you respond in kind, you’ve taken the bait.
John S.
@ Incertus:
What do you mean when you use the term "civility"?
I tend to think that the obsession over foul language vastly misses the mark when it comes to how we behave in a civil fashion.
Is civility served when curse words are avoided in favor of more polite language that serves the same purpose as calling someone a fucking idiot outright? Is civility served by demeaning other people’s point of view and questioning their intellect for daring to disagree?
I think we need to rethink what exactly we mean when referring to "civility", because if its only measure is mock politeness and abstaining from, using foul language then fuck civility.
The terms ‘civility’ and ‘condescension’ shouldn’t be interchangeable.
bago
@charlotte:
Package for you!
Pete
Speaking of South Park, one of my favorite episodes was the one right after the FCC said they could use S–t on cable. They used it over 100 times. I know, because they had a counter in the bottom left of the screen. :-)
Also, I just found this blog a month ago and I think it’s a great place with some thoughtful commentary. I just can’t understand why you all keep feeding Atanarjuat the Troll. Just like Joe the Plumber, he’s a complete fabrication of true conservatism and not worth your time. Ignore him and he will go away.
Dulcie
@Cyrus: I agree with you – I hate the faux outrage. Most kids know what the words are, even if they don’t know what they mean, and they’re more than happy to see people respond when they use them.
When my nephew was three, he picked up my brother’s habit of cursing. When he started cursing at day care, my brother had to censor himself (rightly), and explain to Brev why he couldn’t use those words anymore.
Brev was at my parents house one afternoon a few months later, sitting on the fireplace hearth, looking very sad. My mother asked him why he looked so sad. He replied, with a deep sigh, "I really miss saying that ‘S-H’ word."
Incertus
@John S.: I’m with you on that. I grew up in the south, where fake politeness and backstabbing are an art form. I have way more respect for a person who calls me a motherfucker to my face than one who calls me darling and then hits me with a 2 by 4 while my back’s turned. I can deal with someone who openly dislikes me. It’s the sneaky bastards I can’t abide.
Dulcie
@Incertus: My favorite southern insult is "Bless his\her heart." If you’re from the south, or have spent any time there, you know this is a completely passive\agressive way of saying f-you!
gil mann
Yeah, except for every black rapper, every black comedian, 75% of black people under the age of 40…
God damn it. I constantly make fun of online lefties for getting suckered into arguments with obvious spoofs and now I’m doing it.
Sirkowski
Since most parents don’t remember they were ever children themselves, they’re not aware their kids can control their swearing like an on/off switch. Most kids swear, no matter how polite they are in front of adults. Kids know all the curses and they learned them from their parents, not the TV.
DrDave
@Atanarjuat:
Don’t know if you noticed Sparky, but the country just had a referendum and decided, by wide margin, that the governing philosophy of those you support sucks.
Get used to it.
Joshau Norton
Yes – and a REAL referendum. Not that piddly 50.7 percent phony "referendum" that Chimpy managed to just barely get, by hook and by crook.
Atanarjuat
gil mann quoting me, then said:
Yeah, that old excuse, "black people say the N-word, so…"
Like I said, lefty, prove the courage of your convictions and use the N-word around — not even directly to — an African American person who is within nose-punching reach.
It’s easy to prove me wrong, right? I’m just this "troll" and "spoof" that the regulars here whine non-stop about, so I’m sure they’ve got your back.
Go for it.
– A Country Hamstrung
Objective Scrutator
I expect such imbecility from MS-DNC. Hopefully, Jay Carney will be stoned at the town’s edge. After all, without civilized discourse, how can economic exchanges commence?
Delia
I grew up in a very sheltered environment, and when my parents were frustrated they would say "Oh fudge." It wasn’t until many years later that I realized where that came from. Sometimes circumlocutions can just go too far off track.
Ash Can
@ksmiami:
Fixed, and yes, guilty as charged.
@Incertus:
I totally agree.
I should also emphasize that, as far as eroding civility goes, I certainly recognize that people can (and do) do a great deal more than use vulgar language to bring that about. In my original post (and here as well) I’m picking at semantic/linguistic nits more than bemoaning a loss of civilization — hence my comment about Scarborough having done far worse by saying certain things that, while profanity-free, express toxic ideas. I’m just recognizing the fact that language, by its very nature, has an effect on the civility or lack thereof of a society.
@John S.:
Definitely. I’d add that not only is condescension not the same as civility, being civil isn’t tantamount to being a doormat either, as you rightly point out.
Actually, yes, it is, and it can lead to all sorts of linguistic fun, as Barack Obama shows in that hilarious video. Now, however, is it necessarily more useful and/or effective? That depends on the context.
Delia
And let me just add, it’s a fuckin’ wonderful thing that the FCC will have Joe Scarborough in its crosshairs rather than KO or Rachel.
ksmiami
But to retort to Ash Can, there is more morality in the f-word used honestly, than in the entire Republican agenda!
geg6
@JenJen:
I saw that, too. Anyone, including that twit Mika, who says Carney told the story off-air and actually using the word "fuck" is fucking full of fucking shit.
What I’m really pissed about is that I missed ol’ Joey of the Dead Intern dropping that bomb on air. It would have been much easier to laugh my ass off at home than it was in my office.
grandpajohn
well of course he is fucking hypocrite, he is a fucking republican and its in their fucking genes
Indylib
@Delia:
MSNBC is cable not network. Some commenters on Huffpo didn’t seem to think that FCC would have juristiction to fine MSNBC for Joe’s little indescretion.
Anybody know?
Ash Can
@ksmiami: A big AMEN to that!
And, for the record, this whole JoeScar-drops-f-bomb-on-air story made me laugh out loud, actually. It just got me off on a navel-gazing tangent on the whys and wherefors of language and its usage, that’s all.
gil mann
Did it in my stand-up act on a bet ("I’ll bet you can’t get away with using ‘nigger’ in a punchline"). Fucking killed. Mostly black crowd, and I was the only white comic to walk out of there with a win under his belt.
Any more test questions, fake Republican?
Atanarjuat
gil mann quoted, then said:
You used the N-word as part of a COMEDY act. Jesus Farking Christ, you liberals are dense.
I mean, singularly, quasar-collapsed dense.
Do you SERIOUSLY think you’d get away with using the N-word around a random African American person who wasn’t part of your ha-ha, laugh riot comedy club audience?
You must really think I’m as stupid as you’re looking right now. I mean, just WOW.
This wasn’t even worth a try. How embarrassing for you.
Sure, go out there and loudly say the N-word around a group of African Americans, and make sure you don’t run the moment the last consonant has escaped your mouth. Also, no cheating; you can’t do this in a nursing home or a daycare center.
– Country First.
Delia
I’ve also noticed a few more fucks and shits getting pasts the bleeper on TDS and Colbert. FWIW.
Poopyman
Maybe so, but they still bleep on basic cable, because it’s still a no-no. Don’t know whether it’s a finable offense, but my guess is yes, since basic cable is but a half-step away from over-the-air broadcast.
Not that Bush’s FCC is going to go after Scarborough. Don’t anybody hold their breath.
Krista
The worst though is when they at least understand the context. My father-in-law was out on the wharf one day and this fellow stopped by with his angelic-looking, blonde little girl of about 3 years old. The two men were chatting while the sweet little cherub was preoccupied trying to grab hold of a shiner that had fallen out of the bait tub. As she was once again thwarted in trying to grab this fish, she let out an exasperated "Hold still, you little fuckface!"
My father-in-law almost fell off the wharf, he lost it so badly.
Snail
Yes, because using the n-word, which was created for the specific purpose of denigrating and slurring an entire race of people, is the same as using the word ‘fuck’, which has no such connotations.
Fucking imbecile.
Atanarjuat
Snail, I see you’re yet another RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) candidate on BJ.
My original comment was in response to Incertus’ observation that we should somehow "defang" certain profane terms. While it’s true that he was referring to the F-bomb, I expanded the observation to include the N-word to make my point on how no liberal is eager — or courageous enough — to "defang" that particular bit of profanity.
Do you get it now? I hope so, because the BJ text editor doesn’t permit the emulation of brightly-colored crayons to help with your education.
Fucking imbecile, indeed.
– Country First.
BP
Saw that Olbermann’s contract was renewed by MSNBC today. In light of what I’ve read in the past about a Scarborough/Olbermann feud, I can’t help but wonder whether Scarborough’s "fuck" this morning was something other than accidental.
BC
Late to the party here – does anyone but me remember Richard Nixon getting all huffy in one of the debates with Kennedy because Harry Truman actually used "hell" in public during the 1960 campaign? Nixon very prudishly proclaimed that the leader of the free world should not use such language as it showed a shallow mind. Then, when Nixon’s tapes were reported on, there was "expletive deleted" practically every other word? This is a Republican trait – get all red in the face and upset whenever anyone on the left uses any language that they think they can get mileage on. It’s a red herring for them – they can ignore substance and focus on fluff, but feel real good and very moral while doing so.
Peter Principle
Whenever the "debate" turns to the use of the f-word, I always think of Marlon Brando’s peniultimate line from Apocalypse Now:
"They train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won’t allow them to write fuck on their airplanes because it’s obscene! "
Likewise, fucking (the sexual variety) is about the LEAST obscene thing being done in Washington these days — certainly when compared to the financial bailout, which has become the political equivalent of a serial gang rape of the American people.
gil mann
Yeah, I’ve seen "Kentucky Fried Movie" too.
Oh, I dunno. I mean, adopting positions you don’t actually hold just to get a rise out of people on the internet is pretty clearly a newfound, technology-specific type of personality disorder, but I wouldn’t call it stupid. That’s a term I reserve for those who take the bait and try to… oh, God damn it.
Comrade Tax Analyst
A lady I was dating for a while in the early 80’s called me "Dick-Face" because I beat her in a poker game by sand-bagging a very high ranking hand…she was actually a pretty good card player, but hadn’t be doing it for very long, and I think this might have been the first time somebody totally nailed her on a sand-bag…she was so sure she was gonna win with her hand, so when she saw my cards she just went, "Why you…you…DICK-FACE!"…it cracked everybody at the table up…she thought it was the derisive term her 14-year old daughter used to diss people, but actually that was the more conventionally used "Dick-Head". The way she said it was just so damned funny…for whatever goofy reason a bit later in the evening (well, actually it was well into the morning by then) it became contagious…
I guess you really had to be someone used to 12-14-16 hour card games to see the humor.
Ed Marshall
Anyone who actually has black friends knows you can say nigger around them. It has to be ironic, you need to be a bit more careful than maybe they would be.
Actually, one time, after some (white for the record) GD asshole grabed my girl’s ass at a party, I grabbed him by the lapel and didn’t notice his four huge GD buddies standing by him and got beaten to a pulp.
When I came back to consciousness what jumped out of my mouth was: "I’m going to kill those fucking niggers" and the person mopping blood off my face was a good friend of mine who was black. He laughed his ass off, and I felt like a jerk, he just said "You can’t take niggers anywhere." and laughed more.
I didn’t once hyphenate anything and pretend that that F-word, or N-word doesn’t get translated, and no one is going to get mad at me.
Darkrose
@Zuzu’s Petals: I will always love that Obama laughs at his own jokes. He’s such a dork.
cain
@Pete:
Are you kidding me? Who will we mock then??! I mean, come on, if we can’t bring on the snark there’s something wrong. Eating trolls is one of the most wonderful things you can do on here!
cain
Tattoosydney
@cain:
Yes, and besides also and too, Atanarjuat is actually sounding more interesting in this thread – rather than just dumping his mindless crap into the thread and then shutting up, he’s expanding on his mindless crap, and sounding vaguely like a real (if really stupid) human being…
His spoof score is increasing every day…
If we don’t feed him, he might go away, and I want to see how long he can keep coming up with new pithy end notes like "A nation swirling on the edge of the plughole"….
trollhattan
I see Norman from Kevin Drum’s old blog has slithered over here as "Atanarjuat."
Hours of fucking good times ahead, people. Hours.
Big Tex
Fuck Joe Scarborough.
Joel
Word to Mike Barnicle: You’re a fucking plaigarist. Now that’s an appropriate use of the word "fuck".
Also, great last name. It suits him well.