Have a wonderful day too!

[Tom Myler]

-----Original Message-----
From: JIMRPT@aol.com <JIMRPT@aol.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>; antares@EURONET.NL
<antares@EURONET.NL>
Date: Monday, November 24, 1997 6:38 AM
Subject: Re: Have a wonderful day too!


>Andre;
>  In this country, and among certain groups, some words are not proper for
>everyday usage and just tossing them out will have a very immediate and
>negative effect.  This condition is known as 'denial'.  'Denial' is an
>accepted practice and we go to great lengths to circumvent these words. As
an
>example of socially correct usage of the word in question, i.e. sh--, one
>would never say sh--, rather one would say fecal matter, excrement,
>defecation product, scat(as in bovine), effluvent, crap, or some other more
>socially correct term  but one would defer the use of the 'S' word to the
>more common among society's cast offs.  Words are just that, words, and
words
>have never hurt anyone throughout recorded time.  Such can not be said as
to
>our reactions to these words however and it is these reactions which cause
>all of the trouble....eh?
>  Now thanks to your faux paux (?) in using the 'S' word we now have
another
>word to use instead of the 'S' word that being "merde".  So I suppose we
>could now use the acronym POM instead of POS but............it somehow
>dosen't convey the same meaning.  You see in this country we have, at most
>athletic functions, bright, young cherry, enthusiastic, usually attractive,
>young ladies jumping around and waving sticks with ebullient colored
tassles
>attached...we call these young ladies POM POM girls.  Well we certainly
don't
>want to mix up a POS with our POM POM girls by using POM do we?
>  Quite a quandry I must say.............I suppose that we will be better
off
>calling a POS a POS and suffer through the occasional lapse in etiquette of
>someone informing/reminding us of what we are actually saying....eh?
>  While I am not encouraging the use of words such as sh-- on the list I
>don't think we should stir up a pile of it by making comments when the
>occasional lapse is evidenced either.  I would not like to see it become
the
>common usage but answering a question as to what POS means should not be a
>problem even if it perhaps would have been better handled as a private
post.
>Si, mi compadre?
>Jim Bryant (FL)

Case in Point:  (From "News of the Weird")

Among the many varieties of Tamagotchi toys (egg-like,
electronic "virtual pets" that must be fed and cared for lest they die)
is "My Baby Dinosaur" manufactured by a company in China.  An
Associated Press story in August reported a complaint of Ms. Dale
Brooks when she bought one at the Meriden (Conn.) Square Mall.
The user's manual apparently was written by someone for whom
English is not the primary language. In several places, instructions
on how to deal with the dinosaur's virtual defecation, freely and
matter-of-factly uses the s-word.


Tom

Happy Hallowgivemas