NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/soc/women/19823

Internet Message Format | 1992-11-17 | 2.4 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: soc.women,alt.feminism,soc.men
Subject: In pursuit of the perfect insult
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 18 Nov 92 06:43:50 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Richard Harter)
Organization: Software Maintenance & Development Systems, Inc.
Lines: 34

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

>But if you are *trying* to be rude -- I don't know why they would be
>off limits.  I believe that they are more acceptable to the gentle
>reader than "asshole."

Well, now, this raises an interesting topic, the ancient art of the
insult.  If I apprehend the matter correctly, insults serve three purposes,
dominance, aggression, and bonding.  Insults for the sake of dominance
attempt to establish the superiority of the insultor and the inferiority
of the insultee.  Insults for the sake of aggression attempt to directly
wound the insultee.  Insults for the sake of bonding is best not discussed
in mixed company.

Now it seems to me that if the purpose of the insult is naked aggression,
then anything within the bounds of the Geneva convention is in order.
The only artistry involved is in the fine judgement of where best to
place the knife and how deep to cut.

Status based insults, on the other hand, offer almost endless scope for
artistry.  It has been said that we live in an impoverished culture; in
other cultures the insult is a fine art form.  In such cultures the role
of the insult is subtle; the object is to establish superiority by
displaying the greater proficiency in the art of insult.

One question that perplexes me is whether insults can be politically
correct.  If the patriarchy is no more than a fossilization of primate
dominance, how can it be politically correct to participate in dominance
rituals?
--
Richard Harter: SMDS Inc.  Net address: [e-mail] Phone: [phone]
US Mail: SMDS Inc., PO Box 555, Concord MA 01742.    Fax: [phone]
In the fields of Hell where the grass grows high
Are the graves of dreams allowed to die.