George Carlin Shell Shock
dubeye08Cited 5× on HN, 2020–2024
comedy · general · evergreen · 2020–2024 on HN
A short George Carlin routine on how the term shell shock was softened into combat fatigue and then PTSD. He argues that euphemism hides the reality of suffering.
It is cited in debates about euphemism and language policing, usually by commenters who think softer terms change nothing.
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5 comments from Hacker News
I'm pretty sure that they're aware of the concept but not the term CSAM. CSAM is just the latest iteration of the term we use for the concept due to the euphemism treadmill. ▶ this video
PTSD is also lumped in with shell shock, a jarring of the braincase after explosions (usually during a war) with physical damage. It's unthinkable to me they lump it in with mental problems. George Carlin skit. ▶ this video
It really is not about that. The problem is that some people feel the need to bend over backwards, making symbolic gestures that do not change the underlying issue. As if renaming 'whitelist' to 'allowlist' is going to turn any neo-nazis into angels. George Carlin had a word or two to say about this phenomenon: ▶ this video
"You can't be afraid of words that speak the truth. Even if it's an unpleasant truth ... I don't like words that hide the truth, I don't like words that conceal reality, I don't like euphemisms, and American English is loaded with euphemisms, because Americans have a lot of trouble with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent the kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it. And it gets worse with every generation." - George Carlin on Soft Language ( ▶ this video )
“I’ll betcha, if we’da still been calling it ‘Shell Shock,’ some of those Vietnam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time.” — George Carlin ▶ this video