It's impossible to tell if there's any kind of point under all this "harsh" language.
I feel a bit ill after wading through this post. It's like accidentally stumbling upon hate speech. Disappointing that this got so many upvotes on HN.
I feel a bit ill after wading through this post. It's like accidentally stumbling upon hate speech. Disappointing that this got so many upvotes on HN.
I'll give you this, though: "stumbling upon hate speech" is an innovative way to Godwin a thread.
English is not my native language and I only use the language in work contexts, so my exposure to profanity is pretty much limited to Hollywood output. I'm probably missing something important here.
(Btw -- the title has now been edited to include the author's name, but it wasn't there when I wrote my original comment. If I'd noticed that this rant is by Zed Shaw, I wouldn't have bothered trying to read it in the first place.)
One could think of it like heavy metal music. From the musical output of some bands, one might think they have serious issues, but if you look deeper you might see bright, engaged, and literate folk - perhaps fans of H.P. Lovecraft & Tolkein - adopting exaggerated characters for their own amusement, a little catharsis, and maybe a groupie or two. While it's not my favorite genre, I don't think anybody in Metallica really feels like a mute, paralyzed paraplegic - I just think somebody liked Johnny Got His Gun.
I personally think that the world would be a boring place if the only way to make a point was with your hands folded politely in your lap. Sure, it's valuable and effective to do so, but to disallow other modes of expression would be like saying that the only legitimate colors to paint with are pastels.
I think Zed is hilarious, but I can see how you might not "get" him. He's a writer. He may not be merely trying to persuade. He might also write to entertain, vent, or just to express.
The guy has a strong opinion on many things. Strong enough to piss off the people that agree with what he says. He also adds in a lot of "noise", because frankly, it gets people's attention. Case in point: This article.