As a kid growing up in the country, when I did reach high school and found the other world that lay just beyond my rural existence, I was instantly hooked by a couple of comedians. Talented as they were, they were terrible influences on me.
The first time I heard Richard Pryor and George Carlin, I rolled on the ground trying hard to catch my breath from laughing so hard.
The only clean one I could find.
I was not raised in a strict household but I wouldn't have dreamed of dropping an 'F bomb' within ear's reach of my parents. Oh, but did I learn to curse from those two guys. I think during my senior year of high school, my majors were drinking beer, chasing girls, (unsuccessfully for the most part) and working on my masters in profanity. This is not a course of study I would recommend to anyone by the way, the temporary enjoyment of partying in place of studying closes many doors of opportunity that are hard to pry open later in life.
I see that few things have changed since my high school days, the language kids use today is worse, its more personally insulting. While the 'F word' was my favorite adjective to describe pretty much anything, both good and bad, I would never say it towards a person who was not my friend. If I called someone I didn't know a "MF'er" I was ready to throw down at that point. Now, it seems like calling someone that is on the same level as calling them a jerk or dork.
Both men are now gone. I still think they are funny, but I cringe at the language they use. The same language that drew me in as a freshman in high school, makes me change the channel. I just don't need to hear it, and the odd thing is, they didn't need to curse to be funny. Both men were gifted as comedians, but they never would have achieved the commercial succsses they had without the forbidden fruit of cursing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment