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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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Chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is leaving the White House and the Oct. 1, 2010 headlines of The New York Time read,
"THE SWEARING STOPS NOW."
'AFTER EMANUEL'S BARK AND BITE, A SOFT-SPOKEN WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF IS PICKED."
(Emanuel is being replaced by Pete Rouse.)
Michael D. Shear and Jeff Zeleny said that Mr. Emanuel was a "high-octane bully"; he "barked his orders with salty language."
Mark Levin called Mr. Emanuel "the creepy ballerina." Who can forget when Emanuel called the Democrats "F---ing retards." Everyone got "broygez" (angry) at the Retard word and no one got mad at the "F" word.
I recently read a wonderful piece by Victoria Jackson titled, "The 'F' Word." At the "vebzaytl" (website), Big Hollywood, Victoria Jackson took on Rahm Emanuel for saying "F---ing retards."
Victoria Jackson asks, "What is it with all these people throwing the 'F' word around like a basketball?" She says that she never heard the "vort" (word) until she was about "dray un tsvantsik" (23). She adds that "show people say it all the time. It's vulgar and stupid ("narish"). It's what kids on the playground say to prove they are tough because they are really insecure ."
Ms. Jackson relates a story about a conversation she had with
her 8-year-old
daughter. She was asked if she was allowed
to say F-A-R-T. (In the Yiddish language,
"fart" and "fortz" are taboo.)
Ms. Jackson replied, "Absolutely not. Even
if we weren't Christians, it is not lady like. Besides, when do
you ever need to
say it? When someone does one you are
supposed to pretend ("pretendirn") you
didn't smell or hear it. That's polite."
(Note: The Yiddish word for polite is "eydl.")
"Pleasssse Mommy," she pleaded. "Everybody says it. Even my teachers."
"Well, we don't say it. We say Putt Putt. Aubbie is a nut. She has a rubber butt. And every time she turns around it goes butt butt. My Mom taught me that."
"What?! Everyone would make fun of me if I said that."
"Why do you have to be like everyone? Why don't you be a trendsetter? Call it razzamatazz. I bet everyone will copy you. But, wait, when do you have to say this?"
"Jasmine talks about it all the time."
"Oh, Jasmine who stole your lunch ("lontsh") money and talks about sex?"
"Can I say Fert?"
Ms. Jackson replied, "Honey, if you start with the bad words, like F-A-R-T, it leads to F-U-C-K and then leads to cigarettes, and that leads to alcohol, and that leads to pot, then coke, and then heroin."
"Mommy, you think if I say Fert, I will become a heroin addict?"
"Yep...or worse, Rahm Emanuel. Good Night!" (or, as
we say in Yiddish, "Gut
nakht!")
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Marjorie Wolfe agrees with Michael Wex
("How to Be a Mentsh (& Not a Shmuck)"
that "a parent's duty is to make mentshn out of children--to
turn undeveloped raw
material into men and women who can
turn around and do the same thing in their
turn."
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