Alan S. Austin
Arizona Playwright • Writer • Poet
  

HOME GROWN WANKERS (x/xx)

There's an English slang word rarely used in the US. That Americans never use it surprises me because it would be a useful way to describe individuals who, with no evidence, have either contested the latest elections or stormed the Capitol or supported wild conspiracy theories. It is a common word in the UK and even though it is slang and derogatory, it would be in my view an appropriate word to introduce into common American slang. The word is vulgar. The British enjoy vulgarity far more than Americans. Most of Shakespeare's plays contain terrible vulgarities which if American audiences and parents understood would banish his plays from any school curriculum. As Hamlet put it, it's all "country matters." The word is not Shakespearean or often used in its literal sense, i.e., a physical reference to onanism, but usually uttered in an offhand casual way... "He's just a ******." a generic term for someone, usually male, rich or poor, who doesn't know what the hell he is doing or talking about. It should never be used in the presence of children though the child having reached puberty might understand it. Given my knowledge of American sensibilities I myself am wary of using it for fear of causing offense. The word ironically rhymes with "banker" the first letter being "w" rather than a "b" which, please understand, in no way impugns the important work bankers do.