[extropy-chat] Onan's disgraceful sin

Brett Paatsch bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au
Sun Nov 16 09:50:28 UTC 2003


[interjection]

Spike wrote:
 
> Well, yes but this is how I BELEIVE it happened.
> (Brett, note legitimate usage in this case.) 

Misspelling it and capitalising it doesn't legitimize it,
it just draws attention to it when not using it would have
given the meme no air-play at all. 

By capitalising the word *I* can tell that you are using it
deliberately and that is about all I can tell for sure. I can't
tell if you are shouting defiance (I doubt this, but others
may see it as such and join you even if that is not your intent
for that is the slippery nature of the meme or simply showing
you have it in mind (and are using it deliberately and you think
appropriately or harmlessly or wittily). Its not worth the joke.
Its not harmless. 

It is good that you are aware that you are using it deliberately
instead of relexivly. That makes means that for some time
at least you have a choice. Unfortunately, such is the power
of the meme that in time you will forget and will revert to 
propagating it reflexively again unless you choose to change
your usage deliberately. 

Then, one day, maybe the meme will kill you and/or others that
you care about. Perhaps voters enthralled to the believing meme
may remove from you even the choices and the limited freedoms
that you currently have. 

*If* you have an argument that it is better for *you* to use the
word than to not use it - then I am all ears. But no argument
is no argument. 

So far as I can tell you agree its not harmless and you could 
convey all the meaning you want to without ever using it. 

Brett 








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