I hate the word "please"

Post Reply New Topic

Oscar Wilde had lots of reasons to be cynical.

He was an effeminate gay man in Victorian England. Gayness was punishable by death then.

But he said, in essence, in modern terms, "Cynicism is just wack!"

He was a very piquant judge of human nature. He wrote a sarcastic/sardonic, satirical work known as "The Importance of being Earnest."

He was satirizing some guy named "Earnest," and the idea of being overly earnest.

^Oh. Now I feel silly.

Why do you feel silly?

Here's a nice one for cockroach:

Trust me, Theodore Roosevelt was a man who was very tough on himself.

He was a very sickly child who decided, "f**k it," and started to try to improve his mind and body.

He was a difficult man in some ways--but he really succeeded in improving the minds and bodies of many people.

^So in other words, he was a lot like me.
I feel silly because I didn't know all of that about Oscar Wilde, and this is coming from a girl who can read a 500 paged book in a day.

You definitely have to read about him, then.

He was an interesting character. Not very likeable in some ways.

But interesting, nevertheless.

He went through lots of crap from society--and he was not always a good role model.

But his message about cynicism resonates with me.

Oscar Wilde was one of the most realistic people who ever existed. He said that you can only be happy with a woman if you don't love her. So true!

^That's potentially an insult to lesbians, which I likely am.

I was raised with word the "please" - Allow me to explain, specifically: I was born in Southern Ohio which is primarily of German heritage (as am I); in this part of Ohio most of us say "Please?" instead of the usual response to a question "Excuse me?". (This is derived from the German word and the original use of the word "Bitte" which means "Please")

Most people do not get this at all - When I lived in Texas then moved to N.Y.C. and someone asked me something and I needed them to repeat themselves I would say "Please?"; in both States they would just look at me not knowing what I meant. It was always kind of humorous to me.

As far as being polite. I consider it a necessity. Our civilization has evolved over many Millennium and with it so has our languages and interaction. Myself, and the people I grew up with (family, friends, etc) consider the lack of proper manners a shameful thing.

My ancient ancestors of what was at one time called "Germania" were essentially barbarians, small tribes fighting over forests and involved in every sort of sordid activity imaginable. It has changed much since 100 A.D., obviously. Manners are an aspect of diplomacy, and diplomacy allows for the peaceful settlement of feuds instead of fueling altercations by ongoing hostilities.

^How did you come to this intriguing conclusion?
MoonUnitPatrol: I totally agree that politeness is a human necessity as much as water and food and so forth are.

You must be an aristocrat or something.

^ I hope not! Yikes. That would be kind of scary...