Fuckin Linguists and Roaring Artists

Over 1000 posts ago, way back at the beginning of System Humanity, I dealt with my reluctance to curse in Confessions of a Fuckin Linguist. Lately, however, the word fuck appears all the more frequently in my posts. When a friend commented about that, I joked, ”These times seem to bring out the best in me.”

Besides the pure cursing value (releasing emotional pressure with a linguistic valve), the great American invective declares disrespect for prevailing niceties. It displays a disregard for political correctness and formal properness; a verbal extended long finger pointing upward in the face of ruling authorities and obedient intellectuals, and shouts, ”Up yours! Who gives a shit about your values.”

Childish? Perhaps. Meaningless? Certainly. Decadent? Wheeee…

I doubt if anyone took or takes a closer look at the picture illustrating the post. Who bothers with the details even though that’s where the message comes across. In this case a noble lion, a king of the beasts, with hair done in a style worn by British judges, seems to be resting his paw on ball. Closer examination shows that the lion’s claw is gripping a globe of the world (with a storm approaching in the background.) This statue sits on a low wall of the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The copper beast was put in place in the late 1700s when Britain ruled the world. Small countries, like the small countries of today, had to be careful expressing critical views of imperial power.

Some artists always find a way to curse power, if for no other reason than the joy of doing it. Those with limited talent may use simple vulgarisms. Others, with considerable talent and suitable resources, may choose to roar like a silent lion and dig claws into a symbolic world.

*

“Cursed evil always draws unholy curses.”
Dartwill Aquila

*

The West Bank is now the Judea-Samaria area.