From George Carlin To Bari Weiss: What Are The New ‘Seven Dirty Words?’
George Carlin Image by wikicommons
New York Times opinion writer and editor Bari Weiss is coming out with a book, as reported by CNN’s Reliable Sources.
The oft-controversial Jewish columnist will publish “The New Seven Dirty Words” with Holt in winter 2020.
The book appears based on a discussion she gave at the Chautauqua Institution in July, with the same title. It was inspired by comedian George Carlin’s 1972 performance, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” after which he was arrested. His skit eventually led to the enactment of rules around indecency in media.
In her talk, Weiss argued that today, in a time when the president routinely says ‘vile’ things about Mexican, Haitians, women and many other groups and individual people, those original foul words have lost their ability to shock.
Now, she said, there is a new set of words, ‘far more explosive.’ They are: imagination, humility, proportion, empathy, judgment, reason and doubt.
Not quite Carlin-esque, but certainly intriguing.
The New Seven Dirty Words. https://t.co/HZ2sB58UYG
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) July 27, 2018
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
