CappyNJ
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 6 months, 2013–2024
6:56 · 5.5M views · Aug 3, 2007
A George Carlin stand-up bit from Doin' It Again about soft language and euphemism, showing how softened words hide uncomfortable facts. It touches on topics like shell shock and aging.
Cited whenever euphemisms appear in corporate, product or news language, as the classic comedic critique.
6 comments from Hacker News
Humble suggestion: the author should watch George Carlin's skit on "soft language"[1] and reflect. A mature individual can contribute to a company he or she didn't start and still feel a sense of responsibility and ownership without being coddled by language that pretends employees aren't employees, teams have no leaders, and everybody is equally responsible for the success or failure of the business. Frankly, I would probably avoid a company run by a founder who appears to have hang-ups about being an employer and seems reluctant to accept the responsibilities and rewards of leadership. This is about as appealing as going for a ride in a car without a driver. [1] this video
For starters, we could all stop calling them car "accidents"... The language we use has a direct affect on the emotions we feel while talking about subjects such as this. Softening our language takes the humanity out of life. I refer you to George Carlin [1], who explained it better than I could. [1] this video
Can we all agree that "impacted" is worse than both of those? It provides no clear information about what is actually happening, relying on the entire audience to make the "aha, we're being laid off" connection themselves. "Impacted" appeared five times, "Affected" once, but it was left to the recipients' imaginations to figure out what they were actually being impacted by. Finally, they get around to framing it as "not being offered a role in the new organization"--another euphemism. I mean, it's one thing to soften the message a little when bearing bad news, but "impacted" is softened to the point of uselessness. George Carlin had a bit[1] about this. 1: this video
Ah, "pre-owned"... The soft language [0] version of "secondhand". You see, poor people buy secondhand cars and ewww that's icky and definitely not meant for the temporarily embarrassed millionaires looking for a Tesla. [0] this video
I am frequently reminded of George Carlin's bit about "soft language" and how it obscures facts of life that we're uncomfortable about: this video His criticism of soft language about aging and death starts around the 5 minute mark