Dear Editor,

How did it happen?

Back in the day—w-a-a-a-y back—it was just a respectable Anglo-Saxon word for the very enjoyable act that brought every single one of us into this world. And now it’s the insult of choice? The President, athletes, newscasters, comedians, political candidates in Illinois—you name ‘em, they’re blatting it out, rolling around in it like a hog in mud?

The F-word.

When France conquered England (1066) and installed its hoity-toity language as the speech of the elite ruling class, Anglo-Saxon was demoted to “ language of the ignorant.” Gradually the word that named something natural and absolutely necessary became our insulting term for just about any person or situation that doesn’t suit us.

I don’t know about you, but I see the F-word overuse as a symptom of frustration with one’s own weakness. Sure, I say it under my breath when I can’t get my computer– anything technological–to behave. That’s because I hate to feel inferior, weak. But the word doesn’t cure the problem. Cooling down and thinking does.

Your friend,

Carol Blake Gerrond
Neponset, Ill.