Thursday, December 31, 2009

Oh, It's Exotic!


My yogurt container says "exotic" on it. Can a mass produced food product be "exotic"? Moreover, if anything is exotic, would it need to say so? If a person is "exotic" (or "erotic"), would he or she need to wear a button saying so?

My, how words are abused to try to manipulate us. The answer to this vexation is to love words and to hate their abuse.

8 comments:

Mason said...

Amen! As Peggy Rosenthal, I think it was she, said: "Words have values." Language can lead us to all kinds of places we really didn't intend to visit, if we are not careful.

Jason Musso said...

Is that your hand. If so, you should seriously consider hand modeling as a second career.

Anonymous said...

My girlfriend is from Asia. I have discovered that when it comes to food, 'exotic' all too often means 'blech.' On a social networking site I frequent I read a piece where someone in all seriousness declared themselves to be an intellectual. I was unaware that intellectualism was a matter of self-declaration. I smoked pot in the 60's. I am now declaring myself a pharmacologist.

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Jason!

Do you think I would have my hand photographed for this? I do not even own a functioning camera. It is a stock Internet photo. It is amazing what Google Images can find (and horrifying as well). I am the least photographed unknown philosopher out there (somewhere, nowhere, elsewhere...)

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Ken:

Nice chop!

l4k said...

I am reminded of the old Jerry Seinfeld joke, "Ford LTD which means limited. Limited to the number that Ford can sell."

Lily of the Valley said...

Good questions. I've heard people used the term "exotic" in reference to me, and I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean.

Gary said...

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t -- Margaret Thatcher