"Opponents said the consummation of gay unions can't be spoken of in polite society."
How true!
And now an assignment: Find some "polite society" and talk about the details of the, uh, consummation of your hetero union. Let me know how that works out...
*snerk*
ReplyDelete"...the consummation of gay unions can't be spoken of in polite society."
ReplyDeleteCan't it? I find it entirely possible myself. And I rather think that articulating a deontic prescription (this *should not* be done) as an alethic certainty (this *cannot* be done) is indicative that these people are rather unqualified to present themselves as representatives of "polite society". It's a rather flagrant breach of the Gricean Maxims, I'd say.
I haven't noticed much "polite society" on the anti-gay side.
ReplyDeleteZoid
Hel, you know, the reason we all love you is that nobody else would have taken this quote and seen it as a flagrant breach of the Gricean Maxims!
ReplyDeleteOf course, we could unpack the whole thing even more by digging into the phrase "polite society" and all that assumes and implies, but I wasn't feeling up to going that deep. I was impelled much more by the immature, though satisfying, impulse to just make fun of them...