From: b.scott@csuohio.edu   
      
   On Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:08:49 +1200, Zeborah   
    wrote in   
    in   
   rec.arts.sf.misc:   
      
   > Brian M. Scott  wrote:   
      
   >> Does it help any if I explain that by and   
   >> large words are for me at most mildly offensive in and of   
   >> themselves, generally (if at all) because I find them vulgar   
   >> or coarse, and that true offense -- for me, again -- comes   
   >> only from context or perceived intent?  That I'd like to   
   >> think that I'd still concentrate on context and perceived   
   >> intent even if I had stronger emotional reactions to the   
   >> words themselves?   
      
   > I had kind of guessed that this was the case for you.   
      
   > The thing is that you seem to be arguing that -- or   
   > perhaps as if -- everyone should react in this way.   
      
   That is indeed my gut feeling, if you substitute 'ought to   
   try to react' for 'should react'.  In practice I make a lot   
   of compromises on that score, just as I almost invariably   
   express certain strong opinions only in dilute form, if at   
   all.  But when you get right down to it, I see this as a   
   favor and a way of avoiding pointless unpleasantness, not as   
   something to which an audience of intelligent adults is   
   entitled.   
      
   I'm not going to comment on the rest except to say that   
   while I understand your argument and acknowledge that it has   
   some validity, I don't accept it unconditionally for all   
   contexts and audiences.  (My gut is a bit less obliging, but   
   it usually takes a back seat to the brain.  So to speak.)   
      
   [...]   
      
   Brian   
      
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