How many of you remember the “Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on TV” by the late comedian, George Carlin? I was still an adolescent when his album came out but I remember the words to this day: shitpissfuckcuntcocksuckermotherfuckertits. It’s amazing the things that stay with you when I can’t seem to remember my passwords to my online bank accounts or even LinkedIn these days.
I’ve decided to create my own list of Seven Words I Never Want To Hear On TV or Anywhere. I feel these words are, in no particularly order: overused, misused or abusive. Here you go:
Retarded: This week a neighbor filed a legal charge against a man in NYC for laughing too loud in his apartment. The man said the neighbor had been taunting him, calling him “retarded” so he responded by laughing loudly and frequently. How many times do you hear people, especially teens, refer to something or someone as “retarded?” My mother worked much of her life with mentally retarded children and I believe everyone has a light shining in them. No one should use that word thoughtlessly or derogatively. The literal word “retard” means (verb) to delay or impede and (adj.) slow or backward in emotional development. There is no noun for a “retard.”
Dumb: The primary definition of the word “dumb” as an adj. means unwilling or unable to speak. It is also a synonym for “stupid.” It annoys me when people use the word “dumb” to imply someone is ignorant because I feel everyone has something to offer. I particularly dislike the term “deaf and dumb” because people with hearing disabilities are not “dumb.”
Disaster: Really, very little in the world is a “disaster,” but people use the term loosely all the time. “My gawd! She’s a disastah with her drinking and slutty outfits!” “I just lost my job and my rent was jacked up. And my boyfriend dumped me! My life is a disaster!” “My escort stepped on the hem of my dress at the fundraiser and ripped my ballgown. What a disaster!” The real definition of disaster is this: “a grave occurance, great distruction, distress or misfortune.” Hurricane Sandy was a disaster. The tsunami in Asia was a disaster. Your life may be challenged at times but rarely and hopefully will you never face a real disaster.
Whatever?! This is a mixed word. In the dictionary it means “everything or anything- no matter what” So that’s a positive. But alot of people use it just to dismiss someone or clamp a conversation or imply they could care less or don’t want to give something another thought. I find this word used in that context to be inconsiderate
Celebrity (Sigh!) These days with reality shows covering every possible profession and household personality, the word “celebrity” is overused and needs to be downplayed. We have celebrity chefs, housewives, pawn stars, duck hunters, teen moms, ice fishers, truckers, beard growers, hog callers, doctors, stylists and then the entire phalanx of entertainers. “Celebrity” means “a famous person.” But most of these people should stay out of the spotlight and we the people need to stop celebrating their mundane lives. Instead, let’s duly celebrate people who deserve it for their humanitarian work, their noble achievements and their inspiration.
Stupid! As in “stupid good!” or “stupid delicious!” “my stupid cool motorcycle.” My husband and I had dinner with a chef who used this word during our conversation at least 10 times. Everything was “stupid amazing, stupid silly, stupid potential.” “Stupid”actually means “slow to comprehend” and the second definition is “dull or uninteresting.” I was stupified (astonished) at how many times he used the word in so many different ways.
War War is Hell, particularly when it is overused on TV. There are the reality shows like “Cupcake Wars” and “Storage Wars.” News reporters talk about Mayor Bloomberg’s war against obesity, blaring headphones and smoking. Politicians, hip hop entertainers and TV personalities launch “wars of words.” And then there are the real wars of conflict in Afghanastan and Syria with human loss and political and ideological struggle. “War” by primary definition is an “armed conflict.” One day I hope the only wars we have to watch unfold on TV are on the History Channel not in our real lives or TV’s reality lives. This week the news service Reuters published an interested story on this subject. http://news.yahoo.com/reality-wars-look-tvs-most-overused-word-223946171
My list could go on but then I would be too “full of it,” and that is on my future list of overused phrases.
What are the words you’d like to see downplayed?
