Spare Me Sh*t and F*ck.

Tell It To Me Straight!

I’m sick to death of having my “delicate sensitivities” protected.

It isn’t only the bleeped swear words on TV or the cute typographical gymnastics in print. On a news report, an angry exchange like, “You right-wing motherfucking fascist pig,” gets sanitized into: “You bleep fascist pig.” In newspapers and websites, “fuck” becomes “f*ck,” and “bullshit” becomes “bullsh*t.” Really? What nonsense. Who are we kidding. Give it to me straight.

And it’s not just the words. It’s also the emotion. When Pam Bondi went after Democrats in last week’s hearing, the yelling got so intense that some outlets dialed it back or cut away. You can still find the unfiltered clips on YouTube.

The irony is that research suggests intense language and visible emotion can make communication more persuasive and believable (see Arthur C. Brooks, “The Case for Mindful Cursing”). A motivational-speaker friend once told me: “Show me a man who says ‘heck’ and ‘darn,’ and I’ll show you a man who’ll kick a dog.”

But the worst part isn’t language, it’s political. Make things sweet – never rough. Why? To protect the profits of the elite ruling classes.

Gun Control

Notice what we don’t see after a mass shooting: blood covered walls, shattered bodies, the true aftermath. If people were allowed to witness the carnage caused by high-powered rifles like the AR-15, people would demand gun control immediately.

If the police photographs from Sandy Hook—the mangled bodies of children—were published in national magazines and shown on the evening news, the NRA’s political power would collapse overnight. But we’re told, “No. That would be too harsh.” Bullsh*t. Oh, wait, Bullshit!

The real goal is to keep the public from feeling the full weight of what happened, because if they did, the pressure to change laws would become intense. And that could threaten shareholder profits of the of gun manufacturers.

Epstein

When media reports about Epstein Congressional investigations, we get sanitized coverage the same as gun-violence coverage. We hear phrases like: “Underage girls were trafficked and abused.” Oh my. That sounds so abstract—like a policy failure or a paperwork issue.

If the goal is truth, then tell it in plain language. Let an adult survivor testify about what actually happened to her with the kind of specificity that forces the public to confront it, “When I was 14, homeless, poor, and alone, Ghislaine Maxwell invited me to the island where I was forced to do all manner of sex acts on the rich and famous. For example, Mr. (rich and famous person) forced me to give him oral sex while I was naked as other men stood around laughing and cheering him on.” I was made to perform acts I didn’t understand, didn’t want, and could not refuse.”

Now imagine dozens of survivors describing what was done to them with that level of detail on the record, without euphemisms and without the language of public relations. An outraged public would demand names, accountability, and full disclosure. It would end careers. And yes, some would go to prison.

Oh, and speaking of sex…OMG, never let us see nipples.

JFK Assassination

The mother of all sanitizing was the Warren Commission mythology surrounding the Kennedy assassination. The Zapruder film shows the kill shot from the front and the violent backward snap of Kennedy’s head. It shows brain matter scattered over the truck of the limo. It shows the physical reality of an execution. Unbelievably, we were told the fatal shot came from the back, from Oswald.

The public was not allowed to see this film until 1975 – 12 years after the assassination. Why? To protect us from “graphic details.” Bullshit! It was to protect the Warren Commission’s fabrication of a lone shooter. Hence no conspiracy. Maybe also to protect the Secret Service, and the CIA among others.

Why Are We So Gullible?

Our willingness to believe these fantasies begins in childhood, starting with Santa Claus…the Tooth Fairy…Jesus and the virgin birth…an invisible God up in the sky. Heaven. Hell. Then economic and political horeshit is piled on top of that, “Lower taxes on the rich and we’ll all get ‘trickle down.’”

We are not taught critical thinking in school. That would not be good for the power elites. 

Spare Us the Bullshit

Quit with the bleeps, the asterisks, and the tasteful omissions. Stop polishing reality until it’s unrecognizable. Give it to us straight: profanity, unedited videos and the blood and guts of the real violence that is life in this country. Too bad if this makes the financial elites uncomfortable. They might just lose some power and wealth. They can go f*ck themselves.

And, no, we don’t want to eat cake.

From the Archives 2010

The “New” Bay Bridge