An Open Letter to Michael Bouldin on the "F" Word and the "P" Word

[EDITOR'S NOTE: It should be made clear to anyone reading this that Mr. Holland, who is so primly lecturing on appropriate speech, has openly advocated that Elizabeth Edwards should die so that Hillary Clinton can be annointed president. I should note that Hillary's campaign is not so thrilled with this kind of advocacy and our readership was overwhelmingly disgusted by several of Mr. Holland's posts, most particularly his advocacy of Elizabeth Edwards' death. So, as you read this, keep this in mind. I have edited Mr. Holland's tags to indicate this.]

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Cross-posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

"Many Black men and women who respect themselves and respect their readers simply don't use four-letter vulgarities in their writing, as a rule."

Michael, although there are more than 200 posts at my blog over three months, and many more comments, if you search for the "F" word, you will discover that YOU, Michael, are the only person who has EVER used that word at my blog. This was in the context of a comment you wrote defending the radical atheist and anti-religious agenda of many white atheist/agnostic "progressives" whitosphere blogs.

You see, many Black men and women who respect themselves and respect their readers simply don't use four-letter vulgarity in their writing, as a rule.

You, on the other hand, use the word "pimp" (the "P" word) and the "F" word constantly. You insist on using four letter words and other offensive vulgarity even when it is entirely unnecessary and completely inappropriate.

So, you see, Michael, there is a fundamental difference between your constant insensitivity and the professional sensibility that you will find at many blogs in the Afrosphere. We in the Afrosphere many of us understand that 35% of Black people go to church at least once a week (according to the Pew Research Centers) and those people will NOT return to a blog that is full of filthy four-letter words.

An symbol of the Afrosphere.

It is not that none of us ever use these words in verbal conversation, but many of us rarely if ever do in social contexts where filthy four-letter words like the "P" word you use so frequently are certain to offend others if used in reference to our readers. For example, one of the regular readers at my site is the author of the Asabagna blog. He is a committed church-going Christian whose site expresses his religious foundations. I have searched his Asabagna site and I cannot find a single instance in which he has used the “F” word. I also searched for the "F" at another highly respected Blackosphere site, the Field Negro blog. I could not find a single instance of that word spelled out at the Field Negro blog. At Exodus Mentality, another highly-respected Afrosphere blog, I searched and could not find a single instance of the "F" word being used to intentionally offend another participant.

From this, I draw the conclusion that if I or others constantly used the “F” word at my site, Asabagna or readers like him might well be offended or might conclude that we did not respect ourselves and others enough to be worthy of his time, and so he might stop visiting my site. Out of respect for Asabagna and others like him (e.g. 35% of Black people who go to church each Sunday), I refrain from using the “F” word (even if I might have occasionally used it in another social context where I knew that no one present would be offended).

This is because I understand that successful social interaction requires an understanding of "registers", which are the different vocabularies and modes of expression that we use according to the various social contexts in which we participate. Part of growing up is realizing that not all words are appropriate in all contexts. Our use of language must be informed not only by what offends us, but also by what clearly offends other people.

When you use the “F” word in this post and three times in that other post, it becomes clear to my readers that you do not respect them. And that’s why I don’t censor your posts. As far as I am concerned, you are your own worst advocate. If your concern is receiving more site traffic at Culture Kitchen, you could do far more to achieve that goal by stopping the use of vulgarities like the “F” word and the “P” word than by forbidding readers to post links to others sites.

Some of Liza Sabater’s own relatives, particularly any Catholic ones and any older mature adult ones, may not be reading her site simply because you, Michael, use filthy words so often.

As you say, you may well participate in the Culture Kitchen site that also has a prominent Black woman in its governance, but as far as I am concerned you are a perfect example of why the whitosphere has so few Black participants. You, Michael, refuse to control your filthy language even when others specifically tell you that they find your language to be intentionally offensive to significant sectors of your potential audience.

Michael, please refrain from using the "F" word and the "P" word and other four-letter words at my blog to offend others, because every time you use these words you show a profound disrepect for a significant and highly valued segment of readers in the Blackosphere.

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