Agile Tortoise
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I hate big fat stupid words
Kt did a good job of drawing my attention to certain negative words that we generally don’t want to say use around the boys. We don’t have any trouble avoiding them in speech (generally) — but it’s really amazing how much we have to work around them, particularly in children’s books. Particularly the words “fat”, “stupid” and “hate.” They are all very strong negative words that occur constantly in children’s books…usually for no reason, what-so-ever. We just read around them, substituting other words that work just as well…but it’s amazing to me that we have to.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Personally I never liked the words “moccasin” or “mahogany”
I feel these words malign the native American as well as referring to a living and wonderful tree as nothing but a “piece of wood”. Very disrespectful. I will read around them from now on when I am reading books to some of the naked ladies and forest gnomes who live in my backyard. Sorry forest “vertically challenged people”. They prefer that.
BTW, about 4 years from today you will refer to your Uncle on this blog as “Fat Frank”. What will the children say??
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Well, I didn’t choose the monicker, he did. But that aside, just don’t call the naked ladies “fat”, I hear they hate it when stupid people do that.
Not sure the gnomes much care. They don’t really have self-esteem issues.
g.