Posts Tagged ‘Deer hunter’
“Feelspeak”
One of the reasons CrossFit HQ finds itself in the crosshairs of so many folks of such varied persuasions is that the folks speaking on behalf of the company mince no words. Speaking thusly has become so rare that this, in and of itself, has earned CrossFit (and its founder Greg Glassman) the enmity of people all across every spectrum, people in any and all categories. Standards are set and rules enunciated in plain English. Answers to questions or responses to attack are given quickly, directly, and without artifice.
This makes lots of folks uncomfortable.
In the Western world we’ve become inured to the way the majority of the world talks or writes. The standard operating procedure is now to bend words in such a way that they appeal to a belief system rather than reference a collection of facts. Strong, substantive words like “cause” become hostages to this new feelspeak when they are joined with a qualifier such as “may”. So, too, the verb “to be” in all its splendor is slimed by the addition of “might” or “could”. You’ve seen this: “Experts say that CrossFit may cause injuries when it becomes a sport,” or some such nonsense.
The slimy words, the qualifiers and the hedges, remove all need for honesty. They provide cover for agendas unencumbered by reality. These words speak not for the facts but for the beliefs, the feelings of the speaker. Likewise, they appeal not to the individual who seeks knowledge or understanding but to one who seeks to have his own belief system validated. I feel, therefore I am.
It is in this world that the plain speakers stand out. It’s not necessary to have a large vocabulary, only that a truth be plainly spoken or a position be firmly taken. No hedge. No qualifier. Nothing slimy. No question about where you stand. In “The Deer Hunter” DeNiro’s character didn’t say “this may be this,” did he? Uh uh. “This is this. This ain’t something else. This is this.” Clear, without qualifier, free of slime.
From now on, you’re on your own.