08/07/02: Bitch.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by dhamsaic
I think the difference here is that when I'm with people I know and I say those words (or they say them to me), the meaning is understood.. Coming back to that, words are just words. They are combinations of letters.... I only use my choice phrases in my varous circles of friends.

Anyway, I think this is pretty much a dead topic as far as I'm concerned. We can just agree to disagree, because Maggie & Xug aren't going to see any validity to my argument and whatever they say isn't going to change the fact that what I'm doing, with my friends, isn't hurting anyone else.

I've been essentially offline for a few days, so I'll add one last riposte, in the form of several posts since I'm quoteing more than one poster.

Dham, your opinion that "I'm not hurting anyone else" is indeed an opinion, not a fact, and (once again), calling it one doesn't make it so. If you really believe "words are just words", I think you need to read some Orwell. Or maybe read it again.

I *hear* your argument, but "words are just words" and "what I say doesn't matter except to those who hear my words" strike me as incredibly naive views -- so much so that when I hear them comming from someone like yourself who is so sophisticated in most other ways that I'm not sure what to think . We can close the topic for now; wouldn't want to trouble your rationalizations with any further cognitive dissonance.

Words shape thought as much as thought shapes words--sometimes more. What you say to your friends in private has implications far beyond the instant conversation.

edits for typos