An interesting example of the use of language to consciously mo(u)ld opinion...

Turns of Phrase: Bright

It's a noun, not an adjective. If you say, "I'm bright", that's an immodest (and possibly inaccurate) statement. But "I'm a bright" says that you don't believe in God, more strictly that your view of the world is naturalistic, free of what its inventors describe as "supernaturalism and mystical elements of all kinds". The term has only recently been coined by Paul Giesert and Mynga Futrell, two educators from Sacramento, California. They modelled it on "gay", to provide an umbrella term for a potential coalition of all those who felt themselves isolated and without political influence in the USA because they professed no religious belief. The philosopher Daniel Dennett has taken it up and publicised it in newspaper articles, from two of which the quotations below have been taken.

Whether we brights are a minority or, as I am inclined to believe, a silent majority, our deepest convictions are increasingly dismissed, belittled and condemned by those in power - by politicians who go out of their way to invoke God and to stand, self-righteously preening, on what they call "the side of the angels." [New York Times, 12 Jul. 2003]

Look on the bright side: though at present they can't admit it and get elected, the US Congress must be full of closet brights. As with gays, the more brights come out, the easier it will be for yet more brights to do so. People reluctant to use the word atheist might be happy to come out as a bright. [Guardian, 21 Jun. 2003]


WORLD WIDE WORDS ISSUE 350 Saturday 19 July 2003 Editor: Michael Quinion http://www.worldwidewords.org



Q1: Do you think this is likely to gain wide enough currency to make any impact?
Q2: How might it affect perceptions of the matter under discussion - is it likely to alter popular sentiment over time?

Dear maverick: anyone who admits to being a bright risks having his lights put out. But i don't object to the word as much as I do to "gay". The mutual fellatists and backward boys had a hell of a nerve to take a clean word and soil it.
They should have made a new coinage.
I think it will be a long time before the "brights" can declare their views with impunity, even though the may indeed be a silent majority.

An interesting experiment. I wonder, though, if there was any subconscious push in choosing that word. It seems to me that, unlike the gay/straight pairing, bright invites at least an implied pejorative in its other half: "Hi there, I'm a bright. Are you a dullard?"

I like it, though I too, wonder about the choice of word. I think they will stil continue to have a difficult time until at least this present administration has left office. there are certainly denominations that may embrace this.

I'm a bright.

I think, I too, lean towards brightness. however, how does this differ from "atheist"?

How does a gay differ from a homosexual?

Atheists have a heavy load to bear: propositions of no prayer in schools; no silent time in schools; take 'In God we trust' off of coins; and so on.

'Non-theist' seems to be a less inflammatory term.

And 'bright'--oh, good heavens--really does imply there's that 'dullard' mentioned in one of the above posts.

For anyone who is interested, go take a look at the many non-theist or atheist v. theist threads on 'Straight Dope' (Internet site) if you're interested in reading how ordinary non-believers v. believers are debating numerous spiritual (or lack of) topics.

How does a gay differ from a homosexual?

ah, I see. marketing.

Thinking that God is not an old guy with a long gray beard, and doesn't spend all his time managing one small planet doesn't make you an atheist.

you are very right about that, Dr.

"... free of what its inventors describe as "supernaturalism and mystical elements of all kinds".

What a pity.

that's where I have a bit of trouble with it, too. I think that things can be mystical and sacred, without deifying a singular entity(other than existence itself). I am not a pan-theist, by any means, more the exact opposite.
oops, I just realized this is beginning to skirt the edge of acceptable topic-ness...

the edge of acceptable topic-ness...

hehheh! Yes, indeed, my interest in this was the (socio-)linguistic rather than the substance of bee-leafs or lack of same, interesting as that topic can be (in the way that juggling with chainsaws is!) So, all-y'all got any answers for me, or is it class detention after Sinday school...

> the substance of bee-leafs

would these bee-leafs be those held dear by WASPS?

Well, I suppose bright would do. But what about some word with more "history" which sits between agnosticism and atheism? I don't think WW's "nontheism" quite works, although it's a good attempt. Agnosticism implies doubt; atheism implies overt opposition. How about a word which says "Don't give a damn?"

> How about a word which says "Don't give a damn?"

Apatheistic?

Apatheistic

I'll second that, Nancy - for a good man he's a rogue, isn't he?!

But doc, God is a guy with a white beard. Haven't you seen the pics?

Apatheistic. Great. Like it. Well done our Maxstew!

How does a gay differ from a homosexual?

Those that are gay are having more fun.

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Apatheistic = Very nice, sjmaxq, and a hearty welcome to the board!

how does one pronounce Apatheistic?
Ap-a-the-is-tic, or

never mind, I can't remember the other way I just said it...


hey! that would work well in a double dactyl...

Apatheistic = Very nice, sjmaxq, and a hearty welcome to the board!

Thanks for the welcome. This place is so friendly, I feel like I've been here for years already.

how does one pronounce Apatheistic?

Depends who's this one, eta... hehheh, I heard a lovely little bit of dialogue on R4 tonight concerning a Zild gal who was complaining about the flight to the UK, which went something like this...

1 "We had trouble with the chicken..."
2 "The chicken?! They don't fly!"
1 "No, the chicken... you know, at the disk...?
2 "The CHICKEN at the DISK?!"
1 "Yis, the chick-in disk at the airport...!"

sorry, mix

For anyone interested, I have a small WAV file of my speaking the dialogue mav included in his post. I would upload it, but my host appears to be down. If you're interested, PM me and I will email it to you, so that you can appreciate the magnitude of the slander inflicted upon my nation by this wicked Welshman.

The guy who founded Campus Crusade for Christ, one Bill Bright (e.a.), died today.

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight..."

>The guy who founded Campus Crusade for Christ, one Bill Bright

Well, if he were bright in the senser under discussion here, he would be a shoo-in for senior management in the C of E, so the name may be less ironic that it seems.

more strictly that your view of the world is naturalistic, free of what its inventors describe as "supernaturalism and mystical elements of all kinds".

I dunno...if you've ever watched a caterpillar metmorphose into a butterfly you'd have to admit there's, at least, some delicious mystery in that, if not a sense of the mystical...albeit naturalistic.

" I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars,
And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren,
And the tree-toad is a chef-d'oeuvre for the highest,
And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven,
And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery,
And the cow crunching with depress'd head surpasses any statue,
And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels."

--Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Forget hearing it on R4, I've heard it in real life! I shall decline from naming the actual Kiwi who started this confusion...

Some friends and and I were dropping off our Zildian friend at an airport a few weeks ago. This fella was going on and on about chicken so we moseyed upstairs to the restaurant. At which point, he looked down at the lower level, saw the check-in desk for the airline he was flying with, and wondered aloud why on earth we'd brought him upstairs when he needed to chicken. Some rather confused glances were exchanged before we figured out what was going on!!!!! This also made for a good bit of teasing for the rest of the afternoon...

Slander! My seconds will be calling on yours, forthwith ...

Slander! No, libel! My seconds will be calling on yours, forthwith ...

If you want seconds, Pfranz, the barbequed chicken is *especially good. And it's libeled "low-fat."

I asked an Aussie friend what the difference in accent was and was told "In NZ they say 'feesh and cheeps ' but we say 'fish and chips'." I asked another friend who said "the Aussies say 'fush and chups' but we say 'fish and chips'." Or was it the other way 'round.
It didn't clear things up much.

OZ - feesh & cheeps, Seednee
NZ - fush & chups, Sudney.

I have been giving much thought to our accents of late. The NZ accent is becoming ever more clearly different from its OZ counterpart. A popular music group here at the moment has a lead singer who sings with a pronounced Zildian accent, and it is much less similar to the mutant aberration spawned on the penal side of the Tasman than used to be the case. Also, the recent netball champs have given an example of how environment can affect the speed at which one's accent changes. The star shooter for the NZ team is Irene van Dyk, who moved here from the RSA just 5 years ago. She is a teacher, so she has a great deal of exposure to Kiwi accents, and already her own accent is more Kiwi than Seth Effrican. As the number of children learning Maaori continues to grow, it will be interesting to see what effect that language, with its insistence on clear, non-diphthongal vowel sounds, will have on the evolution of the sweet sound that is Zild.

I worked with a speech therapist from NZ. Families wondered why having a stroke caused Zildian accents.

> Families wondered why having a stroke caused Zildian accents.

LOL! My ex-convict neighbours across the ditch will no doubt have much fun with that one.

Not sure if this confusion was due to U.S. pronunciation or NZ hearing problems. I was entertaining a NZ government official and his wife here in Hawaii; and as we drove along the Ala Wai canal I commented that the State Sport of Hawaii is canoe racing. There was a long silence from the back seat. Finally, the NZ lady asked, "Nude racing?"
Not sure what goes on down there in NZ that would have caused her to leap to that mondegreen.

Sounds like she didn't quite hear the whole of the word "canoe", John. What part of the US are you from, originally?

ex-convict neighbours across the ditch

Aren't you being a bit previous with the "ex", Max?

"What part of the US are you from, originally?"

Southern California--which claims to have no regional accent.

>Southern California--which claims to have no regional accent.


Nah, the only place with no accent is Godzone.

Southern California--which claims to have no regional accent.

Yeah, yeah, they all say that. And they're wrong. It just doesn't sound like one to them themselves, that's all.

Sounds like your Zildian lady friend and hubby just misheard you, but. We're so damned used to Yanklian accents that it seems unlikely that any form of USn, no matter how badly swallowed, would be misinterpreted by a Zilder to that extent.

ex-convict neighbours across the ditch
Aren't you being a bit previous with the "ex", Max?

Just a small gesture for those poor unfortunates.