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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 17, 2017 20:24:03 GMT
kj suggested we should have a "rants and raves" thread, a place where people can get things off their chest. I think this is an excellent idea and I'm even making it a sticky.
I'll go first. Oh goodness. There are dozens of subjects I could tackle!
But one that's bothering me recently is redundancy in conversation. I really feel that, when you've said something once in a conversation, that should be enough. For instance, you should only apologize once, unless you've done something truly awful. And you should only thank somebody once-- twice at the most. It's painfully embarrassing when somebody thanks you over and over again. OK, I got the message.
But redundancy in conversation goes beyond this. Somebody will explain the same thing over and over, often with the preface: "As I say". It seems as though they are unable to end the conversation but don't know how to break off. This is especially noticeable in meetings. I wonder is it especially Irish?
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Post by kj on Aug 17, 2017 20:34:56 GMT
Maolsheachlann, thanks for setting up the thread!
My current beef is with the typical PC Liberal-Leftie I encounter more often than I want to. Generally cheery, full of it, a nauseating kind of friendliness that is clearly generically applied to everyone. PC opinions galore, talks about racism, how much they hate Trump, loves Gay culture, hates the Church etc etc. 99% of the time has zero knowledge of any history or culture and views the past with utter disdain. If this sounds like a cliche, then it's merely because those people are cliches. Oh, and I've often observed that so many of these types work in IT. I apologise to any IT people here: obviously you're different, but it always strikes me how so many people in IT actually possess very little actual information about anything.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 18, 2017 11:19:50 GMT
I think we can all agree with that. The only question is, what proportion of Irish people are actually like this? It's hard to tell. I might be at risk of overusing this thread, since I have so many thing to rant about. Here are two: 1) Stepford Catholics. You know, the ones who have permanent grins on their faces and have a slightly euphoric air about them, as though they are on some kind of drug. There's one young man who I occasionally have dealings with and it creeps me out a little. There seems something so fake about it. Fr. Mike Schmitz of the Youtube channel Ascension Presents is an example of this. I mean, I like him, and he has good points, and maybe it's just his natural personality, but I find it off-putting and unreal. 2) Undignified behaviour in advertising and TV. I mean this kind of thing. I find it embarrassing, unseemly and ugly. And it's everywhere. I was watching a documentary presented by John Creedon where he was talking about some bare-knuckle boxer. He was interviewing some local historian (or something) in a hilly area where one of his fights had occurred. Then they both walked up to a hill from which the boxer had given some victory shout and both did the same. It was so lame and embarrassing. I miss the old Open University. Attachments:
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Post by kj on Aug 21, 2017 9:23:43 GMT
Horrific and vulgar over-use of the words "obviously"; "absolutely"; "totally"; "essentially"; "completely" et al, mainly in speech, but also in prose, alas.
I loathe and despise this. They always sound somehow arrogant and condescending to me, particularly "obviously", which always has a ring of aggression. And it's a hideous word with which to start a sentence.
Try instead "Of course"; "in essence"; "needless to say"; "in its entirety" and so on.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 21, 2017 9:55:39 GMT
I absolutely, totally agree with you. (Somebody was going to say it.)
Linguistic peeves are a whole sub-category. My particular pet hates when it comes to use of language:
"Uncomfortable". "That makes me uncomfortable." For any sense outside the purely physical, better avoided-- it makes the user sound so prissy.
"Strong women". I'm a mere man, but isn't there something deeply condescending about this? When have women NOT been strong? Is the career woman any "stronger" than the mother of six who keeps a family going on the breadline?
"Inappropriate".
"Dialogue". Oh God, dialogue. here it must be said that this doesn't only afflict liberals. I was reading Pope Benedict's book on the Infancy Narratives last night and he talks about "entering into a dialogue" with various scholastic traditions. Makes me cringe.
I could go on all day.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Aug 21, 2017 9:57:09 GMT
There are also words which I use all the time myself, and which I irritate myself in overusing. "Just" is the prime example. I just can't stop using the word just, in speech. "Sorry" is another, as is "thanks". Don't get me wrong, I'm all for politeness, but I think one "sorry" and one "thanks" should be enough, and dislike the nervous compulsion which makes me overuse them. (I'm not alone in this bad habit; it irritates me in other people, too. I like to be thanked for a service or favour-- ONCE. After that, it's embarrassing.)
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Post by Stephen on Aug 29, 2017 12:02:15 GMT
1) Stepford Catholics. You know, the ones who have permanent grins on their faces and have a slightly euphoric air about them, as though they are on some kind of drug. There's one young man who I occasionally have dealings with and it creeps me out a little. There seems something so fake about it. Fr. Mike Schmitz of the Youtube channel Ascension Presents is an example of this. I mean, I like him, and he has good points, and maybe it's just his natural personality, but I find it off-putting and unreal. I know what you mean. I have alway thought of them as Youth 2000/ EWTN disciples. Most are very good Catholics and are very sincere about their faith. I think most don't have the right tools and understanding of the faith to restore Mother church. It funny my wife loves watching Fr. Mike Schmitz on youtube, but that's probably because he is so handsome.
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Post by kj on Sept 8, 2017 7:22:22 GMT
I shan't name the name for fear of having the thought police descend and the forum shut, but our Minister For Child and Youth Affairs, or whatever it is, really gets my goat. Surely the most emblematic sign of Ireland's descent into the abyss. A non-national with minority sexual preferences in charge of an area that surely, if any area should, be the preserve of an Irish traditional person. The fact that all this is accepted so blithely tells me a lot. And let's not forget the travel expenses scandal she was involved in from a while back.
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angelo
Junior Member
Posts: 67
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Post by angelo on Sept 8, 2017 17:30:42 GMT
I shan't name the name for fear of having the thought police descend and the forum shut, but our Minister For Child and Youth Affairs, or whatever it is, really gets my goat. Surely the most emblematic sign of Ireland's descent into the abyss. A non-national with minority sexual preferences in charge of an area that surely, if any area should, be the preserve of an Irish traditional person. The fact that all this is accepted so blithely tells me a lot. And let's not forget the travel expenses scandal she was involved in from a while back. And also the McCabe scandal.
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Post by MourningIreland on Sept 9, 2017 14:26:06 GMT
I shan't name the name for fear of having the thought police descend and the forum shut, but our Minister For Child and Youth Affairs, or whatever it is, really gets my goat. Surely the most emblematic sign of Ireland's descent into the abyss. A non-national with minority sexual preferences in charge of an area that surely, if any area should, be the preserve of an Irish traditional person. The fact that all this is accepted so blithely tells me a lot. And let's not forget the travel expenses scandal she was involved in from a while back. She went on national television to employ the services of Dermot Bannon to renovate her home in Brittas: www.rte.ie/tv/roomtoimprove/s7prog3.htmlI can't remember how much she spent, but I watched the show and found the work to be expensive-looking in character - at least by my Quakerist standards. The anti-poverty activist who stands in passionate solidarity with the poor and oppressed also has (or had - perhaps she has sold up) a holiday home in Co. Kerry: www.irishtimes.com/news/wedded-to-the-cause-1.1166348
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Post by cato on Sept 9, 2017 18:47:13 GMT
I feel like campaigning to REPEAL the decision to get rid of burning witches.
One of the most dreadful of Enda Kenny's deeds was the decision to appoint Miss Zappone as minister for children. Moloch must be delighted at her elevation.
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Post by cato on Sept 9, 2017 20:36:30 GMT
The Taoiseach has just been on the phone to let me know my membership of young Fine Gael (joined 1984) has been revoked for being grossly offensive to the US born pro choice Wiccan community.
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Post by Antaine on Sept 10, 2017 6:39:51 GMT
I need to keep up-to-date on Irish politics more.
So we have a minister for children who calls for abortion and even tried to sue the state for not recognising her farce marriage? Also, is she really a Wiccan? Not sure what to say about that. Some Wiccans seem to see the whole thing very metaphorically, while others apparently believe they truly possess magic (or something like it). It kind of makes me think of the pictures you see of people at New Grange dressed as something from the Morbegs. I don't have a problem with the clothes per se, but when I see people pretending to be magic hippies (I suppose they'd argue they're being druids), I can't help but think "What a shower of attention seekers".
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Post by cato on Sept 10, 2017 9:45:48 GMT
Lest we start a metaphorical witch hunt Antaine can I clarify I was being a little bit casual with my references to Wiccanism which as we may know does have links to the madder wing of the feminist movement.
Miss Zappone as far as I know is primarily a feminist fundamentalist of catholic origin. She is I believe trained as a theologian, which says something sad about the state of liberal theology taken to an extreme. I apologise to all our Wiccan readers who may have taken offense at my comments. Some of my best friends are wiccans.
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Post by Dagda's Daughter on Sept 10, 2017 10:27:08 GMT
Lest we start a metaphorical witch hunt Antaine can I clarify I was being a little bit casual with my references to Wiccanism which as we may know does have links to the madder wing of the feminist movement. Miss Zappone as far as I know is primarily a feminist fundamentalist of catholic origin. She is I believe trained as a theologian, which says something sad about the state of liberal theology taken to an extreme. I apologise to all our Wiccan readers who may have taken offense at my comments. Some of my best friends are wiccans. You are forgiven. Dancing around a standing stone at dawn is deeply conservative. Peace out.
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