From George Carlin To Bari Weiss: What Are The New ‘Seven Dirty Words?’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
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
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
