Thread: F words in an Obama book

I've encountered several f-words in 'Dreams from my father' by Obama. Examples: 'f..ing', 'motherf...r', 'get the f..k outta my face'.
I understand the author choses them to provide a more true-to-life narrative.

How would an average US/non-US reader feel about that? The idea is also that it's a public figure of some importance (though not the President at the time of writing).

Originally Posted by alexsms

I've encountered several f-words in 'Dreams from my father' by Obama. Examples: 'f..ing', 'motherf...r', 'get the f..k outta my face'.
I understand the author choses them to provide a more true-to-life narrative.

How would an average US/non-US reader feel about that? The idea is also that it's a public figure of some importance (though not the President at the time of writing).

Well, speaking for myself, it doesn't offend me. I agree that it's a more true-to-life narrative. But I'm sure others will be offended, if only because they already hate Obama and it just gives them more "ammunition."

I haven't read the book, but whether the F-word is offensive or "low class" depends on the context. Personally, I don't think that The President (or a politician who is planning to run for the office of President) should use the word -- unless, perhaps, he's giving positive encouragement "to the troops". (Cf. "If you don't let us f*ck this *sshole, there's going to be sh*t all over everyone's c*cks and p*ssies, from Team America. In other words, everyone expects soldiers to use the F-word, so if a leader is talking to soldiers, then it's probably okay to say it!)

Another context where it would be "okay" for the President to use such language would be if he was trying to describe how he habitually talked when he was a much younger man "who didn't know better." Again, everyone expects that guys aged 15-25 use the F-word all the time, and it's not the slightest bit scandalous if an old and distinguished gentleman admits that he spoke that way as a young man. So if Obama wrote that "when I was 20 years old and in college, I didn't trust the mother*ckin' establishment," I don't think any American would be offended.

On the other hand, a lot of people were shocked by Nixon's obscene language in the Watergate tape recordings, because Nixon was about 60 years old at the time!

when I was 20 years old and in college

"Не употребляйте наркотики, детишки. Всему своё время и место. И это место - колледж."

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

... to describe how he habitually talked when he was a much younger man "who didn't know better." ... a lot of people were shocked by Nixon's obscene language in the Watergate tape recordings...

Так и есть. В данном случае в книге так разговаривают black подростки (слово встречается 5 или 6 раз в книге), только в одном случае автор употребляет это при разговоре с баскетбольным тренером.
I am not surprised about Nixon, I've seen 'The Wire' show and there quite high ranking politicians (like city mayor) use the f-word very often, so I concluded that it's quite a common thing in US politics в кулуарах (it reminds me of a video placed on youtube when Russian minister of education supposedly said Ты чё ох...ел to his aide when they thought the mike was off).

I would suspect that he uses foul language when any of the scandals that his friends in the media are covering up for him (IMHO) do in fact come up:

The Obama Scandal List: Two Dozen and Counting | The Blog on Obama: White House Dossier

Scott

Originally Posted by alexsms

Так и есть. В данном случае в книге так разговаривают black подростки (слово встречается 5 или 6 раз в книге), только в одном случае автор употребляет это при разговоре с баскетбольным тренером.
I am not surprised about Nixon, I've seen 'The Wire' show and there quite high ranking politicians (like city mayor) use the f-word very often, so I concluded that it's quite a common thing in US politics в кулуарах (it reminds me of a video placed on youtube when Russian minister of education supposedly said Ты чё ох...ел to his aide when they thought the mike was off).

As a journalist, I have had the dubious privilege of talking with many politicians on and off camera, and I can most definitely confirm that the persona many of them present on camera is not the same as the one when the camera and mic are off. Some of them, on the other hand, have no real personality to speak of and when you talk with them, it's like talking to a robot, someone without a soul. Their eyes are dead and they look right through you as if they don't see you. On the other hand, some are absolute jerks off camera. One of the reporters I used to work with is now a Republican Congressman from Oregon. He is a sexist jerk and he was recently charged with assault for hitting his little boy on the head with a hammer. He used his political pull to get rid of the charges, and he blames all of it on his ex-wife of course. He moved up quickly in the Republican party thanks to help from the "Old Boys' Club" which he started doing "favors" for back when he was a reporter. They would feed him negative stories about the Democrats, and he would expose them to make the Republicans look good. Eventually they loved him so much that they made him one of them. He makes around $200,000 a year for only 126 days of work. Какой молодец! And yeah, he pretends not to be a fan of foul language, but I know what he is like off camera and he is certainly no angel.