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
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