I’ve been looking for insults for a while. Always bad words They reveal something about the society that invented themA: How hurt with words is never a simple thing, nor are forms of praise. Of course there were better times than ours in the art of insult: in refining the chosen term the quality of the offender was revealed. Borges has a beautiful essay entitled “The Art of Insult” in which he argues that insults and “vulgar words” They are rooted in magic: By uttering an obscene word, in a way, we not only neutralize the bad energies coming from that person (or from that thing with which, for example, we hit ourselves), but we also transform this discomfort into something else.
In this theory, to call someone a “fool” would not only be to describe him as someone who lives for himself and knows nothing about public affairs (such as the Greek derivation of this word), but would also turn him into one: by means of magic (linguistics) this person would suddenly become incapable of understanding. Mantra, yes.
Following the saying that insult can be an art, the Spanish language has real wonders that are no longer in use today. My favorites: “pelafustán,” which describes a pauper (an outcast, a fool, a mediocre, a philistine), a flounder (an arrogant person), and a coward (a person who lacks the courage to make decisions). The latter also adds a kind of impact to his sound. I think I’ll start using it and see if I come back. Astronaut As for really meaningful ways to be insulted.
Because we have Time for obvious rudeness. We are dominated by craftsmanship and a lack of ingenuity. From presidents to petty officials, we see how much insolence has become prevalent today. Is it possible to run a country, a company or a society with the logic of a football field or a competition with excess testosterone? It seems so.
I’m reading a book that tries to explain this. called rude The author of the book, Renata Salkel (Slovenian sociologist), has several hypotheses in this regard: the commodification of social exchanges (especially in networks) which in neoliberal ideology must always serve a purpose (i.e. progress economically), the ethics of cruelty (on TV, in live broadcast, at work) which involves the transgression of the weakest, and indifference leads to the triumph of psychopaths. Manipulators, masters of deception and chaos, rule (and do business) by division. In this panorama, The insult is only the first escalationN: Physical violence and the continuation of war.
In the face of these expectations, it is worth remembering this Escalation begins with words. In that essay by Borges, a man, helpless in the face of another’s verbal wit, throws a glass in his face. The victim calmly cleans himself up and responds. “This is a digression. Now I await your argument.” Contrary to popular belief, it is not strength that takes a hit. The inability of leaders is also measured by their resort to violence.
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