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JonH comes home


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RE: old faces
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Peter too wrote:

The old/new memory problem as you get older is even more marked when suffering from Alzheimers or vascular dementia. My wife had a phenomenal memory in her younger days, if she read something she remembered it. She called it a dustbin memory. In her later years she was puzzled by a mirror as she thought she was still a teenager and the reflection didn't show that. She would get up in the middle of the night saying "I must get home my parents will be getting worried about me". All memory of the intervening 60+ years had gone.

The changing attitude to certain words through my life has been very marked. I used to have very dark brown hair which my mother used to describe using a word that is now totally unacceptable today but then was in as much common usage lime green or sky blue. Many names were used to label people from various countries or groupings, including Britain. There was an American comedian called Lenny Bruce who's act used to challenge attitudes by going into many unacceptable areas and was often offensive. He was banned from many places including the UK by one Home Secretary, yet many considered him one of the greatest of all comedians. Much of his act was made up as he went along. On one (in)famous occasion he turned to the audience and asked "are there any aaa here tonight?" using the most offensive of all names. There was stunned silence. He followed with "well are there any bbb?", muttering in the audience, "no? well how about any ccc?" some members of the audience started getting up to leave. He continued reeling off one label after another, the audience looked on wondering where he was going then looked amused and finally started laughing. He had labelled and insulted virtually everybody in the audience. You were left wondering, if everybody is labelled with an insulting name is anyone insulted?



-- Edited by Peter too on Tuesday 13th of May 2025 01:07:08 PM

 I remember him. Gosh yes. I recall the standard funny joke we all told was the classic Englishman, scotsman and Irish man - with the Irish man the fall guy of the joke. They dont, cant , get told anymore, and if they do, people wouldnt get them anyway. 



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christ


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How quickly the topic changes!

On the subject of censorship of bad words, I struggle with not (just) the censorship of the words, but the technique of it

If someone says, or writes, "the n word" (no, not the word, but the placeholder for the word) everyone else sucks in their breath, but they all know what it means - there is no effective difference between using the placeholder or the actual word - if the listener/ reader doesn't know what word was meant, then they have no idea of the sense, so are at a loss. Similarly it amuses me no end when the national press use "f***" or "c***" when they quote a potty-mouth, but again they may as well have printed the actual word, as every reader knows exactly what is hidden by the asterisks (and if there are a few that don't, they likely immediately research it to find out why it was censored).

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Peter too


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There used to be a great word in the English language "gay". It meant happy, joyous, full of life, but then a group who had had insulting terms hurled at them for many years, looking for a suitable word, settled on "gay". I understand why they chose it but it does mean we have effectively lost a wonderful word from the English language. In today's troubled world we could do with a bit more gaiety in our lives.

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wales1994


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Peter too wrote:

There used to be a great word in the English language "gay". It meant happy, joyous, full of life, but then a group who had had insulting terms hurled at them for many years, looking for a suitable word, settled on "gay". I understand why they chose it but it does mean we have effectively lost a wonderful word from the English language. In today's troubled world we could do with a bit more gaiety in our lives.

This isn't quite true. Its true that gay once commonly meant joyful or carefree, but over time, it also picked up associations with immorality - largely through straight societys judgments - before being reclaimed by LGBTQ+ communities as a term of identity. Again, the people who used "gay" as an insult, and often still do, are generally straight. So rather than being lost, the word evolved in response to social pressures and prejudice. And if were looking to bring more joy into our lives, there are still plenty of words to express happiness - including gaiety itself.

 



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mdewey


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Can we please call on halt to this discussion of language? I yield to nobody in my interest in language but nothing we do here is going to bring Strongbow back and we risk straying into waters which may offend yet more people.

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Coup Droit


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mdewey wrote:

Can we please call on halt to this discussion of language? I yield to nobody in my interest in language but nothing we do here is going to bring Strongbow back and we risk straying into waters which may offend yet more people.

 But it may also offend people if you stop them exercising their right to free speech (with nothing offensive said, all part of a discussion, about previous times, and current times, which has value)

And it's not hijakcing a tennis thread

 



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Peter too


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Sorry for reopening that part of the debate. I tried to be very careful with what I said. I had already run out of anecdotes and decided to stop anyway. 



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Coup Droit


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Peter too wrote:

Sorry for reopening that part of the debate. I tried to be very careful with what I said. I had already run out of anecdotes and decided to stop anyway. 

 You didn't offend anyone, Peter too - or, at least, not anyone who's posted, so you have to assume that means anyone

And it's always a balancing exercise 

medewy is erring on the side of caution, which is reasonable, but only caution to one side, which is less so 



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Sheddie


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indiana wrote:
JonH comes home wrote:

Didnt hear back from Strongbow yet, sadly, maybe today. Suspicion is he would have responded by now, though.

Lets see - although no harm , maybe, if anyone else wanted to try - I wont follow up or pester personally.

 You've emailed him, and thank you for that. I'd just give him a little time and space before any follow-up ( from anyone if you have partly spoken for the forum ). Could certainly contact him if and when the new member problem is sorted but that doesn't look at all imminent.

Indy, would you be able to email SparkLIT as well about the new member issue? Email is hello@sparklit.com

I like CD's suggestion - if as many of us as possible email the company highlighting the problem, hopefully it'll push them to try and fix it.

 

 



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the addict


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This thread got hijacked halfway down the first page. Perhaps it should be moved to the chat section, leaving the tennis part in this section.

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indiana


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Coup Droit wrote:
mdewey wrote:

Can we please call on halt to this discussion of language? I yield to nobody in my interest in language but nothing we do here is going to bring Strongbow back and we risk straying into waters which may offend yet more people.

 But it may also offend people if you stop them exercising their right to free speech (with nothing offensive said, all part of a discussion, about previous times, and current times, which has value)

And it's not hijakcing a tennis thread

 

 It's absolutely fine IMO. We should be able to discuss and learn. 

I do recognise that there is some element of jeopardy ( well, at least more than if we don't discuss things at all ) but we have good people here, and we have mods who have very little to do most of the time.



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JonH comes home


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I think Strongbow sort of hijacked his own thread, ironically.

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Coup Droit


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indiana wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
mdewey wrote:

Can we please call on halt to this discussion of language? I yield to nobody in my interest in language but nothing we do here is going to bring Strongbow back and we risk straying into waters which may offend yet more people.

 But it may also offend people if you stop them exercising their right to free speech (with nothing offensive said, all part of a discussion, about previous times, and current times, which has value)

And it's not hijakcing a tennis thread

 

 It's absolutely fine IMO. We should be able to discuss and learn. 

I do recognise that there is some element of jeopardy ( well, at least more than if we don't discuss things at all ) but we have good people here, and we have mods who have very little to do most of the time.

 smile



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