Throwing Around The F Word!

There is a certain four letter word that keeps getting thrown around and few people are taking note of the vulgarity that is behind its usage. To be completely honest, I use that word on a daily basis and while it has never caused any problems I am always cognizant of the company around me because there are certain people that will throw a tantrum when those four letters fly from my mouth. Ironically, those same people use the term, most of them more frequently than I do, but I guess it is all about perception.

The word ‘fact’ frequently makes me cringe upon it initially reaching my ears. All too often the usage doesn’t fit the definition or is stretched so thin that the meaning becomes frayed and almost unintelligible. Opinion is being crammed into the public perception of the word and the culprits of this bastardization are all around us. The most glaring misuse of the word stems from the processes that are employed to tailor statistics to fit the needs of a group, political party, or publication.

Recently, CNN conducted a poll asking the following question: “Does the United States need stricter gun control laws?” At first glance this seems to be a valid survey question to be asking the American people. After all, it would provide insight into the breakdown in the US population of those who support the second amendment and those choose not to honor the constitution (you know me, I had to phrase it that way). However, the question is not being asked of the US population. The poll can only be found on the CNN International site. No mention is made on the US edition. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself:

• CNN: International Edition (scroll down to the bottom right of the webpage).
• CNN: US Edition (that’s right, nowhere to be found).

Seems like it would be more appropriate to have those in the United States casting their votes rather than those in other parts of the world weighing in on our rights. While most things I really don’t mind if the entire world voices their yes or no opinion but the poll itself is exclusionary in where they have decided to post it. This is particularly problematic when you consider the fact that the ‘results’ are not going to be used internationally, they are to be leveraged domestically for the purpose of promoting a certain point of view which I clearly do not share.

Of course, this may be a moot point as the poll I currently in my favor even with the “news” agency not counting all the votes. So, and I am speaking to everyone, stop throwing around the F word when most of the things reported as such need at least two words to describe them. And, in this instance, focus on the real threat and make fists, knives, and hammers illegal (or at least make people pass a background check before using them). After all, if it’s good enough for the UK its good enough for us. Right?