on Fuck

It's the verbal orgasm. True, it is often overused, and I say that from experience. But it hurts to hear. It can be a violent and violating, and it can be jubilant. In fact, it can be anything you want. It's the most versatile word in the world's most versatile language: English.

FUCK (!!!)

I respect many people who strongly disagree with the use of the word and I certainly understand the sentiment. I can vaguely recall many a drunk conversation where my intention was to articulate a sensible and well-reasoned statement and the execution just ended up being me stringing together a series of "fuck's" like so many kernels of popcorn on a Christmas tree. However, in that circumstance, I do the word a disservice rather than giving it power. I say that because casual, nonchalant usage will dilute the power of the word over time. To me, that's a shame.

However, I still feel it holds a unique place in our language:

"What the fuck? That fucking fuck took my fucking shit. After I fuck him up, I'm going back to my place to fuck."

LOL wow, that's a horrifying passage right there. But it's there for a reason. The intention is to point out that the word can be used as a verb, noun, adjective, and adverb. Maybe even more, but grammar is the province of professional writers, English teachers, and the zeros out there who pay constant vigil to what those around them say to correct them on their pronunciation of "homage". I never paid much attention or effort into memorizing the "rules", just because I confidently assumed that the patterns of usage that I built as I was maturing contained the rules, and as long as I don't deviate from those norms, expending the effort to memorize the what, why, and how of the language was simply not worth the energy. Plus I'm fucking lazy.

I find the passage beautiful because it shows the inherent challenge that the English language presents. There are few "rules" and many conventions. This allows one with command of the language to exercise a flexibility of expression that cannot be achieved within any other human language. That same flexibility also makes it more difficult to learn and command, because there is an exception to every rule and pronunciation conventions vary wildly.

My appreciation of Fuck isn't wholly academic. It's also very visceral, decidedly unacademic, and entirely immature, no matter how deeply I reason its' usage.

To Be, or Not To Be?

Ideally, this will be its own thing. Its own life, out there in the cloud. But for now, it's me.

You'll have to forgive me, I'm a little rusty at this. Prone to distraction, I've lost my way. At one point, this act would be largely effortless.

But now, it's pain.