>Mick/Jew/Guinea? Man, what a coool, with it,
hardboiled guy you must
>be...we're all in awe...
Snap. Rewind. Replay. "Irish/Jewish/Italian" Better?
>And please don't start a boring thread about political
correctness, or list
>all your Irish/Jewish/Italian friends...that's not the
point...just grow
>up. You sound like a kid in grade two trying to sound
tough in the
>schoolyard...
All Kevin is saying is that he likes (or doesn't mind or is
willing to
endure) certain words in his fiction that he finds
unacceptable, in some
sense, in the message I wrote, which is why he's objecting
here, in an
informal setting in real life.
As an amateur student of language, I aks (not ask) myself,
what accounts
for this schizophrenia?
After all, hardboiled writing has some of the strongest
language one
will find anywhere.
(Admission: I'm reading a non-hardboiled book right now,
"Flashman at
the Charge," that uses the word "nigger" to integral effect.
"Nigger" is
not a word I would use with my black acquaintances [I have no
black
friends, for which I shall surely be castigated] because I
value my
cigarette-stained, gold-and-porcelain-capped teeth. I
suppose, in all
honesty, I must admit I have used the N-word [see how this
shit works
and I obey it] among certain white people. Hi, Mom!)
We would, in fact, feel cheated if the language of a
hardboiled work
weren't as sharp-edged as it could be. But when discussing
the same
literature, we put doilies and teacups out and accuse people
of racism
or being seven-year-olds for violating some gnostic principle
of
discourse. I naturally, it being my nature, snort at this.
Really, I do.
Some people, probably most, would object to the word "shit"
in, say, a
business meeting discussing ROI (Return on Investment) from
IT
(Information Technology). They probably would *not* vocalize
their
objections, from what I have observed, although they might
inwardly
cringe. But Kevin did not object to the word "shit," which I
suppose I
used (I usually do) in the message I wrote. Why would Kevin
object to
"Mick/Jew/Guinea" and not "shit" or "fuck" or "cunt"? I must
admit,
since I'm in an admitting mood, that I'm just as likely to
cringe
hearing the word "shit" in a business meeting as I am to use
it in the
same meeting. I'm curious if Kevin writes letters to editors
or authors
if they use these same words. If not, why not? I'm curious
what Kevin's
language standards are and why he holds them. Really, I
am.
I'm sure there's a theory that explains all this somewhere,
but I'll be
danged if I know what it is.
Now, I don't mind being upbraided -- if the criticism were
intelligent
or not presented in some kind of cheese-dip "post a list of
your ten
favorite private dick authors at my web-site" post-modern
manner. And at
the risk of fulfilling Kevin's prophecy, as a Kraut-Mick, I
don't mind
being called a Kraut-Mick. It has a certain pungency I find
appealing.
And to all the Micks, Jews, and Guineas I offended, I
apologize. I hope
your Mickness, Jewness, or Guineaness serves you well. Like
that
well-known fictional Kraut-Mick, Tom Hagen, I just shake the
hand of the
man who called me a Kraut-Mick and go about my business. Is
it the Kraut
or the Mick in me that lets me do this? Or might I be the
Kraut-Mick
that starts World War III and talks your leg off in the
process?
At least Kevin didn't say I have rocks in my head.
But I do have a conscience, unlike our sociopathic president
or Clown
Prince Chuckles, so I will henceforth refrain from "puffy
shirt"
references.
-- Ned Fleming # # To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to majordomo@icomm.ca. # The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.