Should I wait till it's two months since I posted?

Hey, all!  Yeah, I'm still here.  Been busy but also really didn't feel like writing after losing Evie.  The mourning is finally starting to ease, but I still miss the hell out of her.  She was so different than the other two that every single change outside reminds me of how SHE would've responded rather than how the two remaining did and do.  Ah, she was a hoot.

Well, it's now tomorrow .... this is the post that for some reason didn't autosave and got lost in the cosmos after previewing it.  

In the interim since I last posted, I've continued as always to knit and knit .... and I'm also able to crochet now if I keep it to a minimum with knitting projects in between and also by staying away from the little dinky thread and hooks.  As always, I love making things much more than getting them into the shop's stock; so the dining table is perpetually covered with FO's (finished objects) I've yet to photograph or write up or weigh or any combo of those needed to add them to the shop.  I constantly view this as a PITA chore and would like to get myself to change that attitude, but I haven't quite figured out how to "fool" myself into thinking it's fun rather than a drag.  

My venture into offering/selling patterns is interesting and quite nice.  I've had a couple sales and a couple hearts, so that's encouraging.  I am anxious to hear back from those who've bought a pattern to know how their FO's came out and if they are as pleased with them as I am.  Personally, I really love the slipper patterns; and I've looked all over to see if there's something similar and with all the attributes I love and demand ... and I don't find it anywhere.  Most are bulky or bumpy or downright goofy looking, and I'm exceptionally pleased with mine.  (Gee, catch me boasting!  I think I've done that about two times in my life!)  Anyhow, I'm encouraged with the response as well as the pleasure in sharing my ideas with others; so I'm pretty sure I'll be offering additional patterns in the future.  

Okay, well, now on to the rant!!

Last night I was encouraged to come and write the rant 'cause I was watching a sitcom while knitting, hoping to catch a laugh as well as zone out and relax.  That was completely shattered about five minutes into the program when the highest and most-hated word on my unacceptable language list was used.  This morning I was encouraged to come back to rewrite the rant 'cause it was used again on TV, plus Chris Rock is on The View ... and we all know the controversy he's stirred with his opinion that it's alright for Blacks to use the "n" word.  I personally feel that NO ONE should use it, but that's my opinion.  

Remember a while back when I talked about using foul language? I'm completely unoffended by cursing but feel this to an extreme degree about words that are generally considered not offensive and are used in conversation all the time.  

Without using the word I most detest, you will know what it is and realize how freely and often it's used from this list of just a few of its nearly cliche uses:

 - He's getting away with m_____
 - Screaming bloody m_____
 - If you don't quit fussing, I'll m_____ you (to one's child)!!!
 - We (our team) got m_____
 - We (our team) m_____ them
 - Traffic was m_____

It's obvious that the ones using this word are completely detached from its meaning and are using it for emphasis.  But these very same people would never say 

 - Screaming bloody rape
 - We (our team) raped them
 - Traffic was like getting raped

Yes, they will use "torture" in place of "m" sometimes, and that's offensive to me too.  But why is it acceptable to use "m" when these same people realize that it's not acceptable to use "rape"?  I'm astounded at WHO uses this word and how flippantly, and without a second's thought that they might be causing someone pain.  

Every time I hear it, I'm thrown with the force of a punch, and I'm set to reeling and trying to regain balance and composure while not appearing to be completely insane.  It's frustrating, and the ones who deliver this have no thought whatsoever of what they've done.  

I know I'm far from the only one who deals with this problem.  And you might ask why we don't just say something about it.  The truth is that we're too much in shock and frozen to say anything, and also sometimes the other person's reaction is "Shit! You need to lighten up!"  After many years of dealing with this, I finally have been able to ask those VERY close to me to PLEASE not use that word; but to my amazement, I find I repeatedly have to ask them.  

What's the solution to this situation?  There probably isn't one.  People who struggle with it withdraw from others, especially those who don't know them extremely well; but the television, radio, and books still make it unavoidable ... and I don't just mean the news where they are actually speaking of an actual "m".  

To me, this is not a word that becomes acceptable for emphasis no matter your race, religion, or familiarity with it in the way that Chris Rock and some people feel is the case with the "n" word.  

Solution? Probably not. I can wish and hope that my friends will take note of their vocabulary and banish this word from use, but I don't imagine it will ever disappear from speech in general society.  I doubt that a hundred years ago this was a commonly used word, so when did it become acceptable?  When did we become so insensitive and hurtful without meaning to be?

When we were little, we chanted "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me."  I beg to differ.  This, of course, was to bolster the child who was being called names; but even then I differ.  A child repeated called something negative will carry that into adulthood ... even to old age.  And in the case of offensive words, they can deliver a blow that is really much more hurtful than a physical wound ... and that will always be unacceptable to me.

Okay, that's the end of my rant.  

The Knitwit

Note: My current extra prayer/support list is:
- Lovlee, Rikki, and her family
- Gloria