Dateline: 9 May 2013
The picture above is a screen shot off my computer (click to see an enlarged view). I was in the process of getting online postage to ship a Whizbang wheel hoe parts kit in a U.S. Postal Service Priority box. I typed in the message to the wheel hoe buyer on the bottom right. In case you can't see it, the message says:
"Wheel hoe parts kit is on the way. Handles will ship via UPS Ground. Thanks!"
When I hit the button to proceed to the next step in the postal process, the message in the upper left came up. I was not allowed to go to the next step. In case you can't see it, the message from the U.S. Postal Service says:
Profanity found in note.
I edited my message to say that a "wheelhoe" (one word) was on the way.
But the US Postal Service objected to that too
Profanity found in note.
This takes the proverbial cake.
There is something seriously wrong when "hoe"— one of the most fundamental, ancient, useful and revered of agrarian tools—is hijacked and twisted by modern culture to mean something it has never even remotely meant in thousands of years.
And now "hoe" is deemed a profanity by government censors.
I edited the message to say, "Parts kit is on the way," and was allowed to finish the transaction.
The end is near.......
I remember several years back, an online friend had ordered some legwarmers for her infant. One pair had a giraffe print. Her package took a very long time to arrive because Paypal had to investigate to make sure she wasn't purchasing the legs of baby giraffes.
ReplyDeleteWell folks, this is what happens when bureaucracy takes over and common sense gets thrown out! Our government and tax dollars at work for America..........
ReplyDeleteOR people could learn to use the English language correctly again...
ReplyDeleteInstead of constantly redefining pre-existing words because it is apparently the "latest thing", it would be nice to see people actually learning the language first. This language we are using is the most comprehensive and expressive language on this planet. it has the largest vocabulary and contains the greatest descriptive power of all languages known. It is a shame when the modern taste for cheap slang debases the language to such a point that its meaning is actually changed.
there is only one word for that:
ReplyDeletePATHETIC!!! It is embarrassing to be an American some days.
Mick
Next we'll see Ole Saint Nick being deemed profane by the government sensors. Can you just here him saying, "Parts kit, parts kit, parts kit!", instead of "Ho ho ho!"
ReplyDeleteThe thing that upsets me most is that teh interwebs can't even spell their profanity correctly.
ReplyDeleteMy 3 year old son, who loves nothing more than to mimic us while we do work outside, has his own set of real miniature garden tools. It truly annoys me that every time he tells anyone about his hoe, everyone snickers. Even grown adults. Can't people turn off their dirty minds for two seconds to listen to a little boy talk about how he loves to work outside?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd outwit the postal censors and spell hoe with a zero in place of the "o." like "h0e."
It didn't work.