Perhaps, I wondered, was I being unfair because I loathe Sarah Palin's evil social policies? Only an impartial and wise source could settle the matter for me. I whipped out my trusty slang dictionary, Slang and Euphemism: A Dictionary of Oaths, Curses, Insults, Ethnic Slurs, Sexual Slang and Metaphor, Drug Talk, College Lingo, and Related Matters (2nd Revised Edition) by Richard A. Spears. ("College lingo?" Seriously?) It read:
cunt (see also c*nt, c**t, c***,****,----) 1. the female genitals, specifically the vagina. [said to be from Latin CUNNUS (q.v.)] 2. women considered sexually. 3. copulation [in numerous spellings since the 1300s] The word was banned from print in much of the British Empire until the middle of this century, and it is the most elaborately avoided word in the English language. There are numerous dimunitives: CUNNICLE, CUNTKIN, CUNTLET, CUNNY. Avoidances are: INEFFABLE, MONOSYLLABLE, NAME-IT-NOT, NAMELESS. Disguises are: GRUMBLE AND GRUNT, SHARP AND BLUNT, SIR BERKLEY HUNT, TENUC, UNTCAY. See MONOSYLLABLE for additional synonyms. 4. a rotten fellow; a low, slimy man. [colloquial, 1800s-pres.] 5. to intromit the penis. [attested in a limerick, late 1800s] See also DECUNT.
Whew! That didn't entirely clear the matter up for me, but I believe that she meets definitions 1 (she is certainly interested enough in what comes out of other women's vaginas, anyway), 3 and 5 (she is totally going to screw us if she gets into the VP's office). Hence, Sarah Palin is, in fact, a cunt, and the t-shirt is accurate. Perhaps, however, anti-Palinites might want to wear shirts reading, "Sarah Palin is a monosyllable" to confuse her supporters and avoid controversy. (Plus, "monosyllable" is a great double-entendre in this case.)
Wasn't this fun? Not only did I learn interesting facts about my grandmother's favorite word (I love that she hates the word "fuck," but will cheerfully spew out a word that is otherwise "the most elaborately avoided word in the English language"), but also that I run against popular sentiment in my embrace of the word cunt.
*A group of the Clinton supporters who are possibly the sorest losers in political history.
your mother should have aborted you. better yet her mother should have aborted her.
ReplyDeleteGotta love anonymous asshole comments. Get some balls and leave your name next time.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with calling SP a cunt. I don't think it does anything to help the cause - it only serves to enrage the other side. There are lunatics on both sides of this campaign and all the noise they are making is distracting from the issues at hand. I think it's ridiculous and bad-mannered and wrong to be doing these things.
Everyone has a right to their opinion. I do not like Sarah Palin even a little bit, but I would never call her a cunt. I think she'd be a bad VP because I don't think she has the brains for the job. I think she's abused her power as governor, I think her policy ideas are either vague or downright terrifying and I don't agree with her on pretty much anything she stands for. But cunt? No.
Call her on her issues. Call her on her inability to answer questions from the media. But don't call her names. If it's not OK for people to say these things about Obama, then it's not OK for people to say them about Sarah Palin.
I have to say that I wouldn't go out of my way to call her a cunt, but I also don't disagree that she is one. As you point out, name calling is not cool for this election. I think it obscures the real problems with her policies, and rational people don't listen once they hear a derogatory name because they are repulsed. So, I would not wear that t-shirt, but her lack track record in how she deals with other people does make me believe that she is a bad person.
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally agree - she's awful. And I don't normally shy away from using that epithet, but it makes me feel like I'm stooping to their level when I use it in reference to SP. So I'm taking the fucking high road again. I hate the high road sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI found myself writing a lot of condemnations at BlogHer of the sexist way that Palin has been treated. Yet I noticed her supporters who complain about things like this obnoxious (albeit accurate) t-shirt have nothing to say about people in their own party who refer to Palin as a babe, an attractive lady, or a GILF (Governor I'd Like to Fuck). It seems like it is only OK to treat her as a sex object if you do so in a nice way and support her. Otherwise, you have no right to criticize her and are a bad person.
ReplyDeleteThe high road is really, really difficult, and even a little perilous in this case, isn't it?
I really like cunnicle. I really dislike SarahPalin, but I chose not to join "Women Against Sarah Palin" on Facebook. I'm against her being VP, but I'm not against her very existence. For much the same reason, I would probably hesitate to call her a cunt. I don't know her. I really, really don't want her to be vice-president, though.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I agree with Major Behead on this one. Your post did make my laugh though because I could hear your Granny's voice!
ReplyDeleteOK, I concede poor judgment in this post, as it clearly adds to the rancor of what is going on these days and only gives the opposition fodder for their fire. I'll leave this up because it is a good example of how reasonable lefties do defend the integrity of others. You guys rock!
ReplyDeleteI still will use the word cunt in general, though.