One summer when I was 14, my friends and I walked to the distant corner of Long Island and screamed in an attempt to get rid of our pent up frustrations, you know, Garden State-style. Now thanks to social media, I get to do that every day online. This is both the beauty and the danger of the internet—we get to express our most uninhibited reactions, though we might face some consequences. Social media is used as a platform to further some truly abhorrent ideas—a reality of the internet Twitter is currently grappling with. Some people, however, still perform self-censorship in the most puzzling situations—holding onto what remains of “civilized discourse” by the skin of their teeth.
On Thursday, for example, adult baby Piers Morgan called New York Times writer Charles Blow “gutless” after Blow wrote a harsh column about Trump. “Strong words, just might have been more courageous to say them to Trump’s face,” Morgan scolded. Gutless? Charles Blow ostensibly thought. I’ll show him!!
F*** you Piers. How's that for strong words? https://t.co/C8Ex1DsKe6
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) November 24, 2016
Yes, it appears the supposed great political commentators of our generation are still too afraid to write the word “fuck.”
He told me to f**k off. He's not exactly the Shakespeare of literary pugilists. https://t.co/uBAcmfr4Jc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 24, 2016
Prominent pundits aren’t the only ones afraid to show their inner curse-word loving freak online.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/802016473765974017
https://twitter.com/embed/status/800895830685319169
Doesn’t being unable to type out the word fuck automatically render someone a snowflake as well? Makes you think.
Jimbo Allen, 28, of Salisbury, N.C.
“Most guys I know talk that way.” pic.twitter.com/4IBvPls1PN
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) November 3, 2016
If most guys you know talk that way, why can’t you write “pussy” on your shirt?
And Hillary all of your supporters are brain dead morons. You're as vile as they come b*tch. https://t.co/WInkRFazy3
— Jen (@jensicilian) September 10, 2016
Yep….and Hillary wants to go to the bathroom with DJT!! Stoopid, evil, b*tch https://t.co/XgfVWxdam9
— 💯% MAGA Mary (@YoriKitKat) October 20, 2016
In this fascinating case of self-censorship, a Twitter user proclaims her love of anal but has the decency to censor herself where it really matters:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/798385925726334976
During the election, Viceland had a strong message for Trump—although one asterisk really neutered the message.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/788473494937886720
Here’s a Randy Rainbow song parody about Trump’s “grab ‘em by the pussy” line, with “pussy” bleeped out. Because nothing says brave political commentary like not even saying the “bad word” the guy you’re “making fun of” says.
Breitbart, the home of the alt-right, even censors “fuck” in their headlines.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/802589605010644992
Perhaps we should let go of this false notion of civility. Our national discourse demands we come to terms with words like “pussy,” “fuck,” and “bitch.” Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of vulgarity, and he won. In this case, self-censorship is largely futile, but moreover, it dilutes the meaning behind the violent statements we’re talking about. So don’t be a coward and say what you mean. After all, it’s 2016.
