Category Archives: Language

Why I don’t support pressuring the Redskins to change their name and why they should do it

June 26, 2014 6:40 AM , Leave a Comment ,

It’s no secret that I am no fan of censorship in any form.  I do not agree with any forms of restriction on speech in any format.  Whether it’s censorship in some sort of art form or in actual words.  Using the threat of force or law to alter or diminish speech is wrong no matter what the intention.

Many people will say that when the subject becomes objectionable that it becomes difficult to justify my stance on free speech.  People will say that some things need to be curtailed or dissuaded for the greater good of society as a whole.  Another argument is that pragmatism demands that although ideally we should be allowed to say what we want that reality demands that some sacrifices be made for the greater good.

These are the arguments of those that already have made up their minds and are just casting about for an excuse to justify censorship.

Nowhere is there a greater need to allow free expression than in those things that we deem objectionable.  The unpopular opinion, mindset, or idea needs to be present and readily accessible in the public discussion.  It may seem a small, insignificant point to exclude those ideas that we don’t like but any disruption to the stream of ideas that are available to the public creates a rift, a chasm that will ripple outwards towards other ideas that you may agree with.  Maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually.

If for no other reason these ideas have to be expressible and accessible to future generations at the very least as educational examples of the way that humans can be cruel to each other and may be cruel again in the future.  The key to not committing the errors of the past is to study them in the future.

Now as to the Redskins football team in particular, why should they voluntarily change their names?  Well, the very property that they seek to protect (the name, the logo, etc) is now damaged beyond repair.  It’s now well established that a large number of people find the name objectionable and that they consider it to be something hurtful and downright insulting.

The fan base that treasures the brand is going to age and slowly disappear over time.  The younger fan base will not support the brand and as a result they will lose fan support.

The pragmatic argument to change the brand is that it is no longer tenable or desirable to keep.  Changing the brand to something else is the smart course of action to maintain the fan base of support and keep the franchise going for the long-term.  But whatever they do, they should do it on their own.

 

 

 

 

Posted in: culture, football, language, pop culture, prejudice, racism, sports

Public speaking and rhetoric

September 3, 2013 6:09 PM , Leave a Comment ,

Public speaking has always been a bane to me.  I found out way back when in 6th grade.  We were all required to take a semester of speech communications and I knew that I would never make a good speaker.  I can’t keep the audience interested let alone persuade them to come over to my point of view.  I do so much better through the written word as far as persuasion goes.

My theory is that it has something to do with my voice.  Maybe the pitch, the tone, maybe I need to sound more assertive or confident.  Possibly explains why I get shot down so much when asking for dates.

Another possibility that I have been exploring lately is the role of body language plays when speakers engage a person one on one or speak to a group.

Look at the following YouTube clip with the sound off.

speaking example

Notice the way the people in the video pose, the expressions on their faces, the attitude that they present.  They are interesting without the sound.  They tend to draw the audience in to whatever they’re doing.

So many times when a speaker gets behind the lectern they turn into speaking statues.  They might as well turn on a tape recording of their voice and just leave the stage.  Obviously you can go overboard doing this but a lack of body language is often one of the biggest sins out there.

Not knowing your subject and not practicing are other sins.  I can tell you from experience that not practicing a speech before you need to deliver that speech is deadly.  So is not properly developing and thinking out a speech.  It’s no sin to make a speech too short but it really is a sin to make a speech way too long and leaving some glaring error in the speech because you didn’t research the subject enough.

Lastly, know your audience.  Know what they may be interested in hearing, know what they don’t want to hear about.  When you know a little something about how your audience is apt to respond you can craft a more effective message.

motivating a crowd

In this example the speaker slowly warms to his subject by stating the obvious problem.  He speaks softly encouraging the audience to scoot up to listen.  He relates his own frustration with the problem and shares his own deficiencies.

Almost imperceptibly he starts to turn the crowd over to his views of the problem.  He very softly introduces his solution to the problem and begins to build on it.  As he does the crowd reaction grows and encourages him.  His volume starts increasing and he loses the meekness in his voice.  He is now almost commanding because the crowd allows him to.  He finishes by asking the audience “what are you going to do?”  This allows him to command the listeners with their willing assent.

Speaking has so many nuances and little tricks that it would be impossible to learn them all.  The best we can do is to study up on the subject and find a style that best suits us.  Something that you find comfortable and builds on your strengths and masks your weaknesses.  You will find it a useful tool in so many different parts of your life.

Posted in: business, language, talking

Painting with the full technicolor palette of words

May 21, 2013 1:36 AM , Leave a Comment ,

Last week a study was released ranking the american states by which state used the most curse words and who used the least.  Texas came in 4th as one of the states least likely to curse.  Good news for manners I guess.

While I admire the restraint it takes to speak in such a way that most of your audience can hear your words without any editing or bleeps I am in no way an advocate for censorship.

Human language, whether it’s written or spoken, is extremely limiting.  Concepts and feelings are regularly lost in the written word and I find that people trying to make themselves understood sometimes have to resort to convoluted explanations and even inventing words to transfer meaning to the other party.  Why then would we want to limit language by excluding words on purpose?  Granted curse words have limited utility.  But excluding any words is an artificial handicap that we must not accept.

Now all that being said, I am not a person that uses colorful language just because I can.  Being able to use foul language means that I am free to use but also free not to use a certain words.  As I said I want to be able to convey my message to another person.  If I purposely use a word that may offend them and that’s all that sticks in their mind then how is the rest of my message going to reach them?

As a speaker, as a writer I have to look at my intended audience and think of how I can arrange my words, what words must I choose, and what tone am I trying to set?  As General Patton once said “When I want it to stick, I give it to them loud and dirty.”  In my case when I want it to stick I give it to them straight and simply and I choose the words that I want to use to get my meaning across.

 

 

 

Posted in: language, life in general