Incredibly stupid words, Beligerent Youth. I'm glad that you have seen them differently in the light of day. I have posted elsewhere that we should adhere to a voluntary code of refraining from such comments to anyone.

That said, I'm not a great believer in the idea that the words themselves matter more than the thoughts. I would be much more worried if I felt that you really meant what you were saying, which I don't. I do not consider this place to be one that harbours those with the politics of the extreme right, which I despise. Having said that, I am glad that there are people here who have different politics to mime - how else can I learn?

As far as words are concerned, it is possible to be incredibly nasty yet remain apparently polite, the words chosen are not the main thing. There can be great cultural differences in how words are perceived. Many words that have been discussed on this board as unpleasant, I would hear in this country passed around with no particular rancour amongst a group of well-paid professionals. I tend to reserve my "worst" expressions for those people that I like, and they for me, such is the nature of irony. Even so, I have to watch what comes out of my mouth from time to time. I make it a general rule to refer to a person's behaviour not to the person themselves, if I wish to disagree. I don't regard the passing backwards and forwards of insults as opposed to the calm stating of facts, as achieving anything.