May 2, 2008

It's about *@&$ing time!

I hate these things.

Hate them...

But should they be banned?

Is it illegal to be crude?

Is it illegal to walk down the street wearing - very publicly and obviously - a t-shirt emblazoned with the F-word?

Is it illegal to loudly and clearly scream the same word in the middle of a crowded sidewalk - not endangering anyone (we know that yelling fire in a crowded theater is illegal)?

Should speach that I consider crude and crass - though I'll readily admit that I use pretty salty language in the, what I think, are appropriate situations - be illegal?

I certainly don't know the answers to any of these, and I'm not sure that any of them should be made illegal even though I absolutely abhor the Truck Nutz and want them totally banned. In this, I feel kind of like I did about the smoking ban in that my desire - success of the ban in each case - doesn't necessarily jive with my belief in and desire for the freedoms that our government should allow us.

Ideally, the population of the US would simply recognize the horrific bad taste of Truck Nutz and stop buying them so the business would die in and of itself without any governmental influence.

And I'm guessing that's about as likely as me running the marathon this Sunday, though I wish my neighboring teacher good luck in doing so.

4 comments:

achilles3 said...

I heart truck nutz because it's a great heads up on what kind of fool is driving that overpriced gas hogging monster in front of you.

I just love clues. I'm a clue guy.

PHSChemGuy said...

Well, sure...if you're going to encourage folks to wear vulgar shirts that brand themselves as dumbasses, go for it...

but I'd rather they just not be dumbasses in the first place...

TL said...

I must admit, I was startled and confused to see Truck Nutz for the first time this year... I squinted and asked my husband if I was a perv or if I was right about what I thought I was looking at. We decided it was compensation on the part of the driver. I've got a couple of crude t-shirts, but I never wear them outside of the house. One was a gift, and one I just thought was really funny, but I'd be too embarrassed to wear either in public!

PHSChemGuy said...

Well, yeah...it's like how I've got a half dozen geeky chemistry shirts...entertaining but I'd certainly never wear them in public...

and I'm not a bumper sticker kinda guy...I don't want to be defined as "the abortion guy" or "the leukemia guy" or "the tennis guy" or whatever...I believe a lot of complex, weird, contradictory things and don't want to be summarized by just one...

and especially don't want to be branded as the "vulgar, gross, immature guy"...