Difference between worthy and self-righteous…
“What are you working on now?” she asks. “I’m thinking about doing an essay on self-righteousness. How it has affected the women’s movement, and so forth.” She laughs. I know … Continue reading
“We need a strategy” = “you should all do what I think”
From a box with two columns – ‘convenient abstraction’ and ‘really means’ in “We can’t go on meeting like this” by Viv McWaters and Johnnie Moore…
Peter Drucker on gurus and charlatans…
“I have been saying for many years that we are using the word ‘guru’ only because ‘charlatan’ is too long to fit into a headline.”
Controversial versus Courageous
From the Yes Minister episode “The Right to Know” Sir Humphrey: There are four words you have to work into a proposal if you want a Minister to accept it. … Continue reading
“I’m offended” versus “It’s offensive”
As Ricky Gervais said after the Golden Globes kerfuffle “just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.” I think the example he gave was people getting offended by mixed marriages… … Continue reading
Meanings of the term “adult”
I was about 10 or 11 when we visited my Aunt Edie. I’d already had “the talk,” and I had a fairly good idea of what “adult” meant. Adult movies. … Continue reading
Intellectual Self Defence 