OT -- Re: random cover of a range

[Don]

Bill Baxter wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 4:14 PM, Nick Sabalausky <a at a.a> wrote:
>> "Bill Baxter" <wbaxter at gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:mailman.753.1234854114.22690.digitalmars-d at puremagic.com...
>>> On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 3:52 PM, John Reimer <terminal.node at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Hello Derek,
>>>>
>>>>>> It's a very pervasive view that swearing is a non-issue these days,
>>>>>> and a person is just being prudish and silly if he disaproves.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Hmmm ... you got some statistics to back that up? Most people I deal
>>>>> with have limits (not all the same), so that seems to indicate to me
>>>>> that some swearing behaviour is not acceptable to most people.
>>>>>
>>>> No, I don't. It was a general observation from my interactions within
>>>> certain groups of people.  So I would do best to withdraw that statement.
>>> George Carlin.  Chris Rock.  South Park.  Never would have been
>>> accepted in the Leave-it-to-Beaver era.
>>>
>> Oh man, I would *hate* to be restricted to 50's era television shows like
>> that. I'd feel like I was living in some crazy puritan-revival sect.
> 
> Well, you're a product of your environment, so I guess that's not
> really surprising.
> 
>> I've felt for a while that the issue of profanity can be summed up as
>> "People fall into one of two groups: Those who believe in the old 'sticks
>> and stones' adage and those who don't." It takes a weak person to be harmed
>> by words.
> 
> I don't quite know what to say to that.   So you're saying you
> wouldn't mind if someone stood behind you uttering profanities all day
> long?  I would find that highly annoying and it would most certainly
> contribute to my stress levels.  Even if it weren't profanities it
> would be highly annoying.  So to say words can't harm you seems
> nonsense to me.  Sure words do not cause physical injury, but are
> physical injuries the only ones that matter?
> 
> --bb

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me".
That's what you say to a kid who's just been hurt by words.
<g>
Words can make someone angry enough to punch you in the eye. Or declare 
a war. That's physical enough for me.
They can also cause someone to leave a newsgroup, which is particularly 
relevant in this context.