Carlin is dead. Long live shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

George Carlin was a sensible man, a rational man, a funny man, and a guy who just loved the way words — and, more importantly, our culture's use of words — totally fucked with everybody's sensibilities when, in any rational world, they just shouldn't.

We'll miss George, because he would have really needled people like Mark Caro and Glen Jeffers of the Chicago Tribune, who did a quick write-up on Carlin's effect on our society:

Carlin's impact on language and culture persists to this day...

Words such as "sucks" [and "shit," on the infamous South Park episode] have gone mainstream....

At the same time, other words have become even more loaded. Black comedian-turned-activist Dick Gregory's 1964 autobiography, which sold 7 million copies, was titled with a racial slur, yet when rapper Nas wanted to give his upcoming CD that same title, the outcry was such that he had to change it to a to-be-announced alternative.

...

Still, Carlin's "seven words" retain their power.

You certainly won't see them in this newspaper.

Well, gee, guys — isn't that the problem?

The fact that you guys don't feel able to report the title of Dick Gregory's book — it was Nigger: An Autobiography, by the way — even though you're not using it in the context of an insult or epithet, and the fact that anyone commenting on the Trib article would have to be careful of a direct reference, lest they be censored, moderated or banned, flies in the face of what Carlin was trying to point out.

The fact that you can't feel free to list those seven words yourselves, because oh, heavens forfend the man's actual point be made in an article written to honor his death, is a big problem we have with the shit the mainstream media puts out. For fuck's sake, how can you report on profanity, or subjects relating to specific aspects of language, if you refuse to use the language itself?

We're not outright blaming Caro and Jeffers for this, but for fuck's sake, what is wrong with the mainstream media that guys like these reporters, who are probably pretty regular, smart writers who throw in some choice "asshats" and the like when the occasion calls for it, "know" damn well that it could mean their jobs if they actually published something that read that way?

Our own feelings on swearing and strong language in general are known, but we'd like to point out that George Carlin's really smart take on this issue had precisely the right point to make...and that point is, simply, this:

Words don't have the power. Our USE of words has the power.

Once you understand that, it's pretty easy to honor Carlin's memory. And it's pretty easy to understand the difference between referring to Dick Gregory's book, Nigger, and referring to Dick Gregory as a nigger. Something which we, personally, don't feel inclined to do — but fuck you if you say we can't use the word to illustrate how we won't use it.

So long, George. The sensible and rational will carry the torch. And now, in memory of George, everybody please recite, together:

Shit.

Piss.

Fuck.

Cunt.

Cocksucker.

Motherfucker.

Tits.

A-fucking-men.

I'm going to miss him.

You wrote "the fact the" instead of "the fact that" at one place, and that kinda bugs me.

It bugs the fuck out of us, too, Tom — thanks for pointing it out. Fixed!

Coming to this late. I've been and will continue to be a Carlin fan forever.

Be fair to your hair...I mean, can you hear that shit without laughing your rug off?

I'd like to point out that Frank Zappa did a Carlin with a really awesome interview. He put the language mindfuck right on the media.

If you haven't seen it, the URL here shows the Crossfire interview on YouTube.

Rest easy George, your work's done.