Kids: Don’t swear, it’s not cool.
Filed under Social Media
For some lewd reason this whole parent-trying-to-censor-my-foul-language issue has been blown into enormous proportions. Fong replied my mail which will remain private and confidential as promised, and Lilian had another person writing to her as well.
I feel obliged to answer. I have to. So answer I will. And I am not attempting to try to be responsible. I'm just trying to… say a few things about the world.
When I was 24, I met a nice teacher with a 10 year old daughter. She told me that the Harry Potter books were blasphemous, because JK Rowling teaches kids to cast spells on people they hated. She said that JK Rowling also taught kids that it was OK to make fun of horrible teachers like Prof Trelawney and Prof Snape, and well, I do agree with her… except that part about the blasphemy published in the Harry Potter books.
I asked her if she would ever allow her children to read the books and her answer was this, 'Later, when they are older, when they are able to understand right from wrong.'
I have some words to say to younger people who read my site and think I'm cool.
First of all, thank you very much.
I believe that if you are able to understand the words that I spew on my site, you're probably an intelligent person, and I don't think you need Mummy or Daddy to tell you that, 'You know girl, what you're reading here, is just something to read, not something to emulate.'
You don't even need me to tell you that.
I trust that you are old enough to understand that you cannot accept sweets from strangers, just like you cannot just curse at every hairy, dirty old men who wolf whistles at you.
If you knew how to turn to that page in the newspaper and appreciate this phenomenon called 'blogging' and, well, if you knew how to appreciate the way I write (which is crap, some say but regardless, by a certain hilarious stroke of luck, I am rather femes), you would also know that some of the grammar here is skewed (so much for me being the English editor), and 'jeles' and 'femes' are very wrong ways to spell 'jealous' and 'famous'.
And if you, you know, wanna be like me one day, you know, you should first think about every other thing that comes across your table. You shouldn't just dismiss coffee because it contains caffeine, and neither should you dismiss Dan Brown because he suggested Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children…
And because you shouldn't dismiss anything just because, you shouldn't also dismiss your parents' concerns when they tell you you should not be reading my blog anymore.
Patience is a good thing. You didn't know this, but until the age of 21, my mum set an 11 pm curfew on me. I wasn't allowed to go on trips or outings with my friends until I was 18. And still I survived.
And Auntie, Uncle, Ma, Pa, Po-po, Kong-kong, everyone else who thinks I'm a kurang ajar girl who thinks saying the four-letter word is cool, I'm sorry but really, I can choose not to swear too.
But this is my blog and I said it is a place for me to release stress.
When I was young, I heard my mother swear because someone short-changed her 10 bucks at the market, and that changed my life forever. I decided, that when I became 25, I will allow myself the luxury of swearing in public.
At least, I can tell you, it is not cool to swear, because swearing betrays the immense stress that I have to undergo every single day, as… me.
And kids, if you feel like saying anything foul, you know, hold it in, you can always wait until you're 25, and then you can swear all you like. Although I would still suggest you to only swear on the blog, and not in real life. Cos SWEARING is WAY NOT COOL AT ALL.
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Jul01
July 1, 2005 at 4:29 pm
well…at least not cool ’till one reaches 25
Cheers
July 1, 2005 at 4:32 pm
What a great write-up, and thinking behind this post. Really. May be you should become an advisor to the education minister, since that would get some ….. into official politics?
July 1, 2005 at 4:40 pm
Hmmm …. like I said in in my recent blog, one of the issues is whether a blog is a private place or public domain. No straight answers to that one …
Anyway, it’s a and nice thoughtful piece, but girl I am curious as to what is it that you do at work / life keeps you so stressed out that you need to swear ?
Just don’t stop blogging.
July 1, 2005 at 4:43 pm
*agress with aunty chooki*
July 1, 2005 at 5:01 pm
oh well, i sure hope you’ll get on with the next part of Cinderella soon
July 1, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Dear auntie minishorts,
I am so sorry to hear about your stress. If the other adults give you shit….oooops….sorry….I mean a hard time, maybe you should try to ignore them. We cannot satisfy everybody. My teacher said that a wise person should not try to ride two boats. If you ride with one leg on one boat and another leg on another boat, you will only fall into the water. She said that you should choose the boat that you want to ride, then ignore all the other people who keep asking you to also ride the other boat. My teacher is very wise one, so you should listen. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Little viewtru
July 1, 2005 at 5:13 pm
viewtru : ahhh … but a wiseman does have 2 balls rite anot ??!! LOL!
July 1, 2005 at 5:16 pm
nah….kids have a right too.
July 1, 2005 at 5:57 pm
“Cos SWEARING is WAY NOT COOL AT ALL.”
Some people say that about sex too. Luckily they have been proven wrong, manyx10000 times over and over and over and over again
July 1, 2005 at 6:37 pm
please tell that to fuckstress, hee-hee
July 1, 2005 at 6:41 pm
Minishorts Cher-Cher,
But I read your fairytales, hor, all got very bad words wann. Cher-Cher wat is sex? I sced ask my mummy so I ask you, can you esplain to mee?
Your loyal preteen fan.
July 1, 2005 at 7:15 pm
a sensible post in return!
*applaus*
July 1, 2005 at 8:35 pm
Minishorts – you said CRAP in the post – CRAP is a swear word! Ha ha! We are going to have to turn up at your place with pitchforks and firey torches and tar and feather you and run you out of town on a wagon! heee hee! (Okay, I am only joking! I’d never do that to you)
At the END of the day, parents should take some responsibility for what their children are doing on the internet – if they don’t like them accessing sites with swearing and stuff, then they should buy Net Nanny or Surf Patrol (smurf patrol to some)! If they can afford the internet then they can afford the software which basically looks after their interests!
Orion – A Blog is a PUBLIC place! It may contain private thoughts and private things – if you want a blog which is PRIVATE and only for friends there are plenty of ways to set them up so that they need passwords to access them.
If you are using something like Blogger where anyone can surf to, then it is definitely PUBLIC because the internet is PUBLIC.
As to what people say and do in them – well, that’s subject to the owner of the blog – not because the blog is private, but because the content of the blog is up to the individual who owns it, much like the contents of someone’s front lawn, or what fixtures they have around their home. Anything which they consider private and OFF LIMITS should not be placed on a blog in the same way that you wouldn’t pull down the walls to your house so people can see what you are gettign up to. (Big Brother is basically people doing that – but it’s their choice).
July 1, 2005 at 8:58 pm
Minishorts, a great response very diplomatic and mature. Don’t think I’d be able to come up with anything as good a response as you would have in a similar situation. There’s so many instances in the world where we find that things are imperfect, we should see the world as it is and not always sugarcoat it. Be aware, nobody is immune from negative influences out there. I agree with your statement, read but don’t emulate, children should be brought up to learn how to differenciate what can be done and what not to. In the long run too no matter how much we shelter our children, someday we have to teach them to survive in the world without us. I’m no parent so many I won’t be conversant to the problems of raising a kid, but I know how my dad raised me and I’ve always respected him for that, for not smothering me yet always being there when I need guidance.
July 1, 2005 at 11:05 pm
No one forces these moral-enforcing parents or their kids to type in the URL or to click on links. It’s a blogger’s right to say what he/she wants on their own blog (open to interpretation i guess).
Kinda like PAS saying beautiful women shouldn’t work but stay at home becos they are the root of sin for men.
The autocratic thou-shalt-not-swear online isn’t the way to go. Parents should teach their kids what’s right and wrong.
Blog on, minishorts.
July 1, 2005 at 11:05 pm
Wow. I feel clean reading this. Thank you.
July 1, 2005 at 11:05 pm
i bloody don’t understand what the damn fuss is all about swearing. EVERYBODY swears. whether you use ‘Good Grief’ or ‘Fuck’ is beside the point. you’re still swearing. jeeezezz krais…
July 1, 2005 at 11:31 pm
Hey girl. Not all old men are hairy.:grin:
I am not Tom, not Dick and not hairy.
Seriously, I admire your patience in writing this post. Big Hugs.
July 1, 2005 at 11:40 pm
Actually, you’re handling this situation really well, minishorts. I salute you for that. I think people are taking this a tad bit too seriously. Aiks!
AND, you look really nice on the newspaper. =D
July 1, 2005 at 11:44 pm
oh im so not cool.
i swear like, every 10 mins. and i havent reached 18 yet:cry:
July 2, 2005 at 1:54 am
minishorts…were u the participant at ifc 2001 ? I think i saw u before then.
July 2, 2005 at 2:08 am
bing: no. seriously if i were walking and i heard a bunch of 20-somethings swearing like how i sometimes did in this blog, i would be quite appalled.
andreas: nahahaha… politics is not my thing… but i have to work with the MOE sometimes… terrible job.
orion: i’m an academic editor. i edit textbooks, guidebooks and storybooks for younger people.
wingz: eh… i nochet become auntie ok…
s-kay: yup yup its brewing. the storm will blow but hell the story’s brewing.
viewtru: not the same lah… i’m still me… but i didn’t say that i’m constant.
kasba: they have the right to think for themselves… but until they are adults, parents have the right to set rules for them. its not unfortunate at all.
suanie: wah someone very experienced hoh.
torment: you are not a kid anymore (you guys are delusional).
KY: hehe you got here fuckstress swear so much in real life or not? not so much right?
jayelle: thanks dear.
dabido: crap is not a swear word you crapper. :mr green:
kervin: no lah. just a stroke of genius-luck that came wisping to my mind…
vagus: i like the PAS and beautiful woman metaphor.
james: read other things get dirty meh?
eyeris: many many years ago, the word ‘despair’ was a horrible word too but now… it’s just chicken shit.
pok ku: mmmm … actually i thought i was quite impatient at the publication of this post… but nvm lah… hehe… thank you (suddenly feel kembang cos pok ku reply and support me)
binnie: hehe… my mum thinks i look fat in the photos but eric says i’m ok.
har har: then you should try to cut that down, no?
chocobo244: yeah i think so. i was 21 then, very brash too.
July 2, 2005 at 2:46 am
Hahaha ! I had the same turning point in my life when my mum started cursing at the Pasar man (fishmonger) #@$%^ – Then I started to question – why adult can swear and children can’t loh?
Ahhh ! Grows in wisdom he does
July 2, 2005 at 4:51 am
Heheh, these parents might as well keep their kids out of schools. If I recall, our average schoolday included more foul language than a week’s worth of blogging here.
People are being really naive if they think their kids won’t pick that stuff up elsewhere. Movies, TV, other adults, peers, coffeeshops (go listen to the DJ Kun Kee claypot chicken rice auntie during peak hour! ahahah).
Better to educate their kids on why they shouldn’t use foul language, than to hope to hide them away from it forever. They’re bound to be exposed sooner or later.
These parents are just looking for a scapegoat.
July 2, 2005 at 8:52 am
wow minishorts!! got enlightenment or wat arr? nywayzz, it was a good one and to those budak budak kecik, please listen to minishorts jie-jie k?
July 2, 2005 at 8:21 pm
talk no evil see no evil hear no evil
mama din tell u meh?
July 2, 2005 at 10:26 pm
Dictionary Definition of the word -
crap Pronunciation Key (krp) Vulgar Slang n.
1) Excrement.
2) An act of defecating.
intr.v. crapped, crap·ping, craps
To defecate.
In English (aka Aussie, US and UK) as far as I know, it is equivalent of saying “shit” and people will get offended and tell you off for swearing if you use it. It is considered a swear word! (Appologies for saying Crap and Shit on this comment!)
Same as ‘Dork’ meaning a penus! Lots of people use it as though it isn’t a swear word, but lots of people will also get offended!
[Just thought I'd inform you, as I know people have had the words CRAP and DORK edited out of books before which were aimed at a general audience.]
Craps is only never a swear word when refering to the dice game. [Same way that Bitch is considered a swear word unless you are refering to a female dog].
July 2, 2005 at 10:27 pm
Geees –
the posting system made them points 28. and 29. when I wrote the comment I used 1. and 2. … so the system changed the nummbering on me! lol
July 2, 2005 at 10:28 pm
Wooops – ignore last comment – it changed them back to 1) and 2) after I commented! Stoooopid computers!