BULLogging – (verb) To type in an intimidating public manner.
HEXting – (verb) To place a curse via telephone communication.
[From the personal dictionary of T.]
I spend a large portion of each day placing fingers to electronic keyboards to spill my opinions out on various screens but never to cause anyone harm or discomfort. I mean, if I do it’s maybe because of the occasional grammatical error or typo – but certainly not because of offensive or malicious content. And I’ll be darned if there’s ever seriously wicked profanity showing up in my missives, no matter how angry I am! [In my head, is another matter.]
Today’s teenagers seem to have a different set of standards for how to express themselves and their daily drama. I consider myself to be pretty compassionate about their woes, as I’m no stranger to the angst of those between the ages of 12 and 17. Why? Because I’m old. I’ve been a sideline witness for nearly half a century. You live that long, you see a lot of things and if you’re constantly walking through life with the intention of writing about it, you hear and report.
The main difference between the last handful of years and the two score and seven that I’ve been around is this: the size of the public platform for their expression. For centuries before, young Turks called each other out on playgrounds and parking lots. Big deal. If you drew a crowd of fifty people to hear you, it was epic. Then the lines of communication opened, usually erroneously, to spread the information that was heard or seen and it turned the encounter into much more than it really probably was. “You should of seen it! So-and-so called So-and-so a dirty, nasty so-and-so…” [Remember … I won’t sully a clean page with dirty words.]
Nowadays, kids can spew their hateful cooties for someone they despise via cell phones that transmit a message to their contact list with the push of a button or worse – for thousands, or more, to see on their on-line blog. Almost like an electronic Colosseum where enemies are fed to the lions while audiences watch from their private booths/monitors.
What makes this public spectacle of dragging another through the mud worse for me, is how kids type like sailors, throwing around horrible words like it’s nothing. As though the curse has no harmful effect once it leaves their fingers.
One horrible word that shows up constantly is one that for over forty years of my life was only whispered in company, polite or otherwise. This particular word was never said out loud, because it was so vile and repulsive to women. I see it all the time in the on-line blogs of teenagers – and oh yes, your blogs get read by parents (often not your own), those of you that see us around town, smiling and waving as you pass by. Seriously. You pet your family dog with those fingers?!
Just so we’re all clear on this matter, I am NOT about to suggest censorship or taking away the privileges of self-expression. There isn’t a bone in my phalanges that wants to see that happen. This great country was founded and fought for so that we could all cuss and discuss the First Amendment any time we gather together.
Is it asking too much that some manners and creativity find their way back into the communication patterns of young people? I tell elementary school kids all the time, “Developing your reading and writing skills is a bit like having super powers – words write the documents that rule the world.” I haven't yet pointed out that the greatest documents ever written throughout history did NOT contain vulgar language. Perhaps, I should so the next group of young Turks keeps their unsavory language on the playground, saving their most powerful words for all the world to see.
