Okay everybody, I need a good, hearty opinion here.
A bunch o' we was gyaffing...chatting online, and one of the Admins of the group say if we got problems, tell Admin.
A naughty bug bite me, and I write:
"I got a problem. Me husband leave me for a' older lady. And when I say older, I mean oooold, 'cause he is old!!!"
This start up a pile o' jokes.
A chap tell me I mustn't say old. It ain't PC. (We the people of my native land ain't politically correct, so I know, and he know that I know and everybody know, that he joking too).
I ask if I must say Ancient or Antique.
We all had a hearty time discussing this.
Later on though, I start to think the same ole (ooops) thought that been going through me mind for many years now.
What is wrong with saying old? Old is the new bad-word?
If we can't use the word "old"...ole...I can't call me book Big Ole Home By De Sea no more?
What about this well-known folklore creature:
For the innocent: ole higue does take off she skin, hide it in a calabash in a tree. Then she does spin sheself into a ball o' fire and enter homes to suck them people blood. She especially love the blood of new-born babies.
What we gon call she now?
Antique higue.
Ancient higue.
Elderly higue.
Aged higue.
Them words don't sound right, if you ask me.
Anyways, back to the question...what is wrong with "old" now? How it get to being wrong when, in many cultures, old folks was revered?
What you think?
Enjoy you' day, me hearties. Eat plenty fruit and veggies, drink nice water.
Love, neena xx
I am old. Which is fine. I hope to get older yet. I am not yet an antique (which I believe means over 100). I am mostly PC - but I am careful not to use words/descriptions which will hurt people. Old is not one of them I don't think.
ReplyDeleteChild, as my mother says, we must learn to grow old gracefully.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'm politically correct.
I know I'm polite, I know I don't like hurting others, and I try not to be mean, nasty to people. There are some words that should definitely never be used.
Old is a great word for describing something - everyone else knows exactly what you mean.
ReplyDeleteBut when someone uses it on us it is unsettling.
We don't feel old on the inside, even if our body is falling apart on the outside.
Old implies past its best, ready for the end, no longer of any use.
And who would like those descriptions to be said about them?
This is why, I think, there has been the rise in the use of the word, "mature" to start describing people
Thank you for adding your thoughts, Kim. I like to discover what others are thinking. I'll mull over it while I prepare lunch.
DeleteThe strange thing, Kim, is that the senior citizens in certain cultures don't mind being referred to as old.
And I remember a time when it never was a negative word.
I have my theories as to why it's now seen as offensive in more developed countries...I will write about it next week.
I tend to use the word elderly instead. I don't mind the world old unless someone uses it to describe me, then I hate it.
ReplyDeleteJoey, ya got to brazen it out, man, find a way to be brazen and bold about it. Walk with a stick and poke them. Or something. :-D
ReplyDelete