A message that bears repeating

[Princess Dolly]

I believe it's called hyperbole.

As in, "the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally."

For example, "Gawd, I'm so embarrassed, I could just die!" does not mean the speaker is at imminent risk of suicide and should be taken into immediate custody for her own safety.

I don't believe anyone honestly thinks the poster in question truly wants to see anyone die in a fiery crash, much less his local newscasters.

Why even say it unless you are acting the ***?

 

[sam_gordon]

I forgot to mention, I don't think the original email is bullying. It is being rude and insensitive, but not bullying.

 

[LisaR]

This part:

In any regards, that part of my original post was a throw away I used just to highlight that a news anchor has no business being viewed as a role model for health simply because of their job. That was the more important part of that post which was ignored which was meant to address the example (which I read as role-model) statement of the post I quoted.

Nope, I disagree. He is referring to his "original post," the one from a page or two back. What you quoted has nothing to do with his rude statement above.

I believe it's called hyperbole.

As in, "the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally."

For example, "Gawd, I'm so embarrassed, I could just die!" does not mean the speaker is at imminent risk of suicide and should be taken into immediate custody for her own safety.

I don't believe anyone honestly thinks the poster in question truly wants to see anyone die in a fiery crash, much less his local newscasters.

Oh, I get hyperbole but somehow I don't think FireDancer is a friend of hyperbole. He is known for his honesty. He doesn't shy away from it and continually points out on other threads that it is just the way he feels. In this case, I don't see the hyperbole. With another poster, maybe.

Edited to add: I would be SHOCKED if FD came back and said it was just hyperbole. It isn't his style. I give him credit; he always owns what he posts and I can't imagine this will be any different. We'll see.

 

[FireDancer]

I believe it's called hyperbole.

Exactly. Hyperbole is my favorite rhetorical device. I don't want to see anyone (ok, almost anyone as anyone who remembers my Penn State stance can attest to) die in a bus crash. I never said I did. I said that I wouldn't miss them if they were all gone and I wouldn't. I wouldn't miss a lot of people who end up gone. But the bus crash was just hyperbole.

Anyway, the cometary on my value of local anchors was all just a throw away of the actual meaning of my post that addressed someone else mentioning that the anchor set an example or that people perceive her to be setting an example. No job what so ever makes anyone a role model on it's own.

 

[Magpie]

Why even say it unless you are acting the ***?

Why not? It gets across his frustration with his local newscasters quite colourfully, I think. I doubt he expected anyone to say, "Omigawd, only a monster would seriously want innocent people to die!" when it's perfectly obvious he's not being serious.

And I can empathize! I'd love to have a professional, well-spoken anchor like the one in the OP. Her speech brought me to tears.

My local crew, though? The elderly fellow who slurred all his words, tipped to the side, and occasionally lost his place when reading has finally retired. We used to wonder if he kept a wet bar under the desk! Now the folks replacing him, who used to be okay, are stumbling over their lines and mixing up their words and looking flushed and spacey. Which pretty much confirms that he passed on the key to his private bar when he left!

There's one lady, who has been regulated to late nights, who keeps getting fatter and fatter and fatter. She's easily three times the size of the lady in the OP. It's interesting in high definition - but honestly I prefer her to the skeletal fashion expert on the national news, who looks like a stiff breeze would break her in two. I respect the fat lady more, because at least she's not trying to convince me that Fashion Week is OMG SO important.

Oh... and then there was the time the anchor looked at the field of daffodils and said, "The tulips are certainly blooming early this spring. Just look at all those beautiful tulips!" Cut to commercial, and when we come back, he's saying, "Don't write! Don't text! Don't e-mail! I KNOW what a tulip is!"

And if after the show he'd turned to someone off camera said, "Whoever wrote my script needs to die," I doubt anyone would accuse him of making death threats.

 

[disykat]

Essentially, this all illustrates the point that there are people who are more than willing to insinuate that other people have no value because they have characteristics that the former doesn't value.

This in turn, often becomes the start of bullying problems.

 

[Colleen27]

He said she made the CHOICE to be obese. I'm guessing that wasn't her choice.

And what is she supposed to do to "reconsider the example she is setting"? Give up her job?

Well, for most people obesity is a choice. Not an easy choice (hey, I'm a fat chick too, with a terrible metabolism to boot... I know from experience that not everyone has the same road to weight loss) but a choice nonetheless. I wake up each morning and make the choice that being overweight but active is currently more acceptable to me than going to extremes to lose the weight (and that's what it takes for me to be a healthy weight - not just moderation - so I do understand that not every heavy person is gorging on Twinkies and Cheetos all day long).

Again, I didn't see the mean/hurtful tone many are assigning to his e-mail. She's in a position where if she did make lifestyle changes and lose weight, she could reach a lot of people. I don't think he was telling her to quit her job; I think he was (stupidly and tactlessly) encouraging her to become a more positive role model by making healthier choices and embracing the work involved in maintaining a normal weight.

You don't think he intended to be hurtful?

No, I don't. I think people are understandably sensitive about weight because it is truly one of the last accepted/tolerated prejudices, but that shouldn't be reason enough to make the subject a social taboo.

I wish more people would realize this. i wish they'd ditch the BMI thing and measure people's heath based on things like blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar, etc. I'm overweight and I try to do healthy things and my stats are actually quite good.

I agree, but I know that's because of my own experiences and biases. I'm overweight and healthy by all other measures. I'm active, my bike is my primary mode of transportation, I run/walk 5Ks with my children, and I'm working my way up to longer races with the 2013 ToT 10miler at WDW as my ultimate goal. But what really made me see the flaws in BMI as a tool for individuals isn't myself - it is my husband, who is very athletic/in shape, works a physical job, and has only gone up one jean size since high school but is obese by the BMI scale.

 

[SaraJayne]

Exactly. Hyperbole is my favorite rhetorical device. I don't want to see anyone (ok, almost anyone as anyone who remembers my Penn State stance can attest to) die in a bus crash. I never said I did. I said that I wouldn't miss them if they were all gone and I wouldn't. I wouldn't miss a lot of people who end up gone. But the bus crash was just hyperbole.

Anyway, the cometary on my value of local anchors was all just a throw away of the actual meaning of my post that addressed someone else mentioning that the anchor set an example or that people perceive her to be setting an example. No job what so ever makes anyone a role model on it's own.

She isn't a role model because of her job. She's a role model because of her actions.

She was considered a role model long before the email was sent.

 

[FireDancer]

Why not? It gets across his frustration with his local newscasters quite colourfully, I think. I doubt he expected anyone to say, "Omigawd, only a monster would seriously want innocent people to die!" when it's perfectly obvious he's not being serious.

And I can empathize! I'd love to have a professional, well-spoken anchor like the one in the OP. Her speech brought me to tears.

My local crew, though? The elderly fellow who slurred all his words, tipped to the side, and occasionally lost his place when reading has finally retired. We used to wonder if he kept a wet bar under the desk! Now the folks replacing him, who used to be okay, are stumbling over their lines and mixing up their words and looking flushed and spacey. Which pretty much confirms that he passed on the key to his private bar when he left!

There's one lady, who has been regulated to late nights, who keeps getting fatter and fatter and fatter. She's easily three times the size of the lady in the OP. And then there's the fashion expert, who couldn't get any more skeletal and horrifying if she tried. The skin on her face looks like it's been pulled so far back, there's nothing but bone under there. And her mannerisms and voice are deeply irritating. Honestly, I prefer watching the fat lady read.

Oh... and then there was the time the anchor looked at the field of daffodils and said, "The tulips are certainly blooming early this spring. Just look at all those beautiful tulips!" Cut to commercial, and when we come back, he's saying, "Don't write! Don't text! Don't e-mail! I KNOW what a tulip is!"

And if after the show he'd turned to someone off camera said, "Whoever wrote my script needs to die," I doubt anyone would accuse him of making death threats.

You want to have some real fun watch what happens when the teleprompter breaks and they have to actually think of their own words on the fly and have some sort of meaningful interaction that isn't scripted. You know, like normal human beings. Feel free to substitute politicians for news anchors and it is the same thing. Both are pretty low on my list of favorite people as a group.

 

[SaraJayne]

Again, I didn't see the mean/hurtful tone many are assigning to his e-mail. She's in a position where if she did make lifestyle changes and lose weight, she could reach a lot of people. I don't think he was telling her to quit her job; I think he was (stupidly and tactlessly) encouraging her to become a more positive role model by making healthier choices and embracing the work involved in maintaining a normal weight.



No, I don't. I think people are understandably sensitive about weight because it is truly one of the last accepted/tolerated prejudices, but that shouldn't be reason enough to make the subject a social taboo.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see how anyone can possibly say the email wasn't intended to be hurtful.

 

[SaraJayne]

I believe it's called hyperbole.

As in, "the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally."

For example, "Gawd, I'm so embarrassed, I could just die!" does not mean the speaker is at imminent risk of suicide and should be taken into immediate custody for her own safety.

I don't believe anyone honestly thinks the poster in question truly wants to see anyone die in a fiery crash, much less his local newscasters.

Or some people refer to it as being tactless.

 

[LSmith]

Quiet frankly (general Frank(ly) I found what Firedancer wrote much more disturbing than what the lawyer wrote.

 

[LisaR]

Exactly. Hyperbole is my favorite rhetorical device. I don't want to see anyone (ok, almost anyone as anyone who remembers my Penn State stance can attest to) die in a bus crash. I never said I did. I said that I wouldn't miss them if they were all gone and I wouldn't. I wouldn't miss a lot of people who end up gone. But the bus crash was just hyperbole.

Anyway, the cometary on my value of local anchors was all just a throw away of the actual meaning of my post that addressed someone else mentioning that the anchor set an example or that people perceive her to be setting an example. No job what so ever makes anyone a role model on it's own.

Really?? So all of this stuff you have been posting over the years has been hyperbole? Those comments about speaking your mind, telling it the way it is, and not apologizing for your opinion........was that hyperbole, too?

Now you really disappoint me (not that you care, nor do I blame you). But if there was one thing I could always count on from you, it was speaking your mind no matter who you offended or how tacky it was. Now you are claiming it is hyperbole? Okay, then.....

 

[Magpie]

You want to have some real fun watch what happens when the teleprompter breaks and they have to actually think of their own words on the fly and have some sort of meaningful interaction that isn't scripted. You know, like normal human beings. Feel free to substitute politicians for news anchors and it is the same thing. Both are pretty low on my list of favorite people as a group.

Actually, I'm rather fond of our local newscasters. They get up there on TV every day for us to mock them, and they do it with a smile (most of the time).

Yes, they're incompetent and hilarious, and you're absolutely right - there's nothing like the entertainment of watching them try to come up with words of their own.

But it's a job, and not a particularly fun one. They're in the bush leagues of journalism, and they know it. They didn't go to journalism school to end up reading the news on Sunday nights at 11pm, on local access TV. Yet despite that, they are all very active in community events and charity fundraising. They're dedicated to working for their town.

If I wasn't getting entertainment out of watching them, I wouldn't watch. Especially in this day and age, I don't need to watch TV to get my news.

Politicians are waaaaay lower on my list than newscasters.

 

[luvmy3]

Good for you, I guess.

If he had made a comment that a bus full of child molesters went over a cliff and he would miss the bus more, I'd applaud his statement.

These aren't child molesters. These are hard working people doing their job. It may be an easy job (simply reading a teleprompter) or it may be more difficult (actual journalism). But that is irrelevant. They are human beings simply doing a job. They are contributing to society just like a cashier at Dairy Queen, the CEO of a company, or an IT person. To make a comment stating that they are basically worthless humans on this planet and a bus is more important than they are is pathetic. But if that floats your boat, too, congrats.

How would you feel if he said a bus full of lawyers like the one that wrote that email?





Sorry I couldn't resist.

 

[FireDancer]

Really?? So all of this stuff you have been posting over the years has been hyperbole? Those comments about speaking your mind, telling it the way it is, and not apologizing for your opinion........was that hyperbole, too?

Now you really disappoint me (not that you care, nor do I blame you). But if there was one thing I could always count on from you, it was speaking your mind no matter who you offended or how tacky it was. Now you are claiming it is hyperbole? Okay, then.....

Hyperbole and honesty are not mutually exclusive.

 

[luvsJack]

Well, for most people obesity is a choice. Not an easy choice (hey, I'm a fat chick too, with a terrible metabolism to boot... I know from experience that not everyone has the same road to weight loss) but a choice nonetheless. I wake up each morning and make the choice that being overweight but active is currently more acceptable to me than going to extremes to lose the weight (and that's what it takes for me to be a healthy weight - not just moderation - so I do understand that not every heavy person is gorging on Twinkies and Cheetos all day long).

Again, I didn't see the mean/hurtful tone many are assigning to his e-mail. She's in a position where if she did make lifestyle changes and lose weight, she could reach a lot of people. I don't think he was telling her to quit her job; I think he was (stupidly and tactlessly) encouraging her to become a more positive role model by making healthier choices and embracing the work involved in maintaining a normal weight.



No, I don't. I think people are understandably sensitive about weight because it is truly one of the last accepted/tolerated prejudices, but that shouldn't be reason enough to make the subject a social taboo.

While I do see staying overweight as a choice, in some ways, I think that people like the lawyer have no idea what that choice is about. It takes determination, will power, TIME and a change in not only the person's lifestyle but that of their family (especially when we are talking about a wife and mother) to make the changes necessary to lose weight and keep it off. There are numerous road blocks in that choice and those are hard for a lot of people to overcome.

As for the intention of the email being hurtful, if he did not realize that it would be hurtful to her; then he is a bigger idiot than first thought. Of course it is hurtful to ANYONE when told that their appearance is not acceptable. It is not his place (or anyone's for that matter) to tell this woman that she should change her lifestyle or the way she looks.

 

[LisaR]

Hyperbole and honesty are not mutually exclusive.

But excuses are always excuses.

 

[Sanchez]

Really?? So all of this stuff you have been posting over the years has been hyperbole? Those comments about speaking your mind, telling it the way it is, and not apologizing for your opinion........was that hyperbole, too?

Now you really disappoint me (not that you care, nor do I blame you). But if there was one thing I could always count on from you, it was speaking your mind no matter who you offended or how tacky it was. Now you are claiming it is hyperbole? Okay, then.....

Now you are just being melodramatic. It is hard to believe that Frank's statement about newscasters is upsetting you (and others)so much. I understand that you do not care for his willingness to openly share his opinions on obesity but bringing this red herring to the forefront does nothing to support your position.

 

[Magpie]

Quiet frankly (general Frank(ly) I found what Firedancer wrote much more disturbing than what the lawyer wrote.

Me, I am always far more disturbed by sincere arrogance and presumption, than by exaggeration and hyperbole.

I do not believe Firedancer desires the actual physical death of anyone (except maybe certain child rapists and sadistic serial killers... I can't recall if he's pro-death penalty or not). I have trouble believing any rational person believes this to be true, but if you do, then I sympathize with your fear and horror. It must be rough to share a message board with someone you believe is a conscienceless psychopath.

As for the lawyer in the OP - he was speaking honestly. That's what made his words disturbing to me. The idea that he thought he had the right! He's not her father, and it wouldn't be acceptable even if he was. What did he expect her to do? Quit on the spot, so she wouldn't be a bad role model any more? Hide herself under a burka so she doesn't offend his eyes? Did he think she'd read his e-mail, and say, "Oh my gosh, he's right! I'm fat! I need to change my slothful, gluttonous ways right now!" It just boggles the imagination.

And can you imagine what a terrible lawyer and/or husband he must be, if he regularly behaves in this kind of high-handed manner?