observation on my idiolect (cusswords in post)

[rikibeth]

Someone commented, yesterday, on my use of "problematic" in an online discussion. They characterized it as a weak word. I hadn't thought of it that way.

It made me realize something about the way I use words. If I disagree with something, but want to give the speaker/writer the benefit of the doubt for good intentions, the word I tend to use is "misguided."

"Mistaken" is a little stronger than that, when I feel it's more than just a matter of opinion.

The next level up from that is "wrongheaded." This is the polite version of "they have their head wedged up their ass."

By the time I'm dragging out "problematic," I'm going for the G-rated version of "that's some pretty fucked-up shit, right there."

However, I can't expect the rest of the world to have a secret decoder ring for Rikibeth Is Trying Not To Swear.

aren't words cool?

Comments

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

No, sometimes you can't! I was using "problematic" in a frackin' parenthetical note about a famous writer who'd also said some fucked-up shit, when mostly I was saying, "hey, I wonder if that term references this writer." I didn't want to mention her without noting the existence of fucked-up shit in her body of work, but it totally wasn't what the discussion was ABOUT.