Blog Toy: How Much Cussing on Hyphoid Logic?
Alerted by Respectful Insolence, I was curious to try out this little blog toy that tells you how many "dirty words" are to be found at a given website. On the average, about 9% of the pages on a site contain swear words. Here at Hyphoid Logic, though, I aim for a greater level of honesty:
It's not that I set out to use offensive language, of course, but there are some instances in which I find that only the most visceral language will do. When describing something deeply offensive, I feel it's appropriate to use words that others might find offensive but that I find cathartic and, most importantly, accurate. Bullshit is bullshit, for instance. Sometimes, "nonsense" and even my favorite word for such things, "codswallop," simply don't rise to the task of conveying my feelings about something truly noxious.
Language can be a funny thing. Where I grew up and learned to speak — Brooklyn — anybody who became flustered at the liberal application of words like "bullshit" or the intermittent dropping of "f-bombs" would have been viewed as rather snotty and fey, and probably putting on airs. I try not to do that here because hey, this is my own little echo-chamber, after all. In my Grand Unifying Blogosophy, a blog is a thing that should offer an honest extension of the workings of one's mind. However much research I do and however much I learn and however many American subcultures I may move through in the course of my life, the inmost core of my being will always be tied to the streets of Coney Island.
You got a problem widdat?
