Since its inception, this blog has been written for an adult audience, and tended to drift into the kind of words not usually found in polite philatelic publications.
But in recent days I’ve noticed hits coming in from various educational sources that I suspect are being used by harried teachers and parents trying to keep the kids engaged while we’re all in COVID-19 isolation.
In these difficult times, we all have sacrifices to make, and each one of has a role to play.
So I’ve made the decision to strip out all the naughty words from the blog. Well, the really naughty ones, anyway.
There are some fantastic online philatelic resources that can be enjoyed by kids – if that’s what you’re looking for, your first stop should definitely be the YouTube channel, Exploring Stamps. (It’s safe for grown-ups, too.)
I’ll continue to write for an older audience, but you can rest assured that if the kids wander in, they will no longer exposed to un-scholarly language that will get you fired. I mostly just spray my opinions here, so the site is not educational in focus, but you can accidentally learn plenty along the way. And there are lots of pretty pictures.
The level of any remaining crudeness could loosely be described as ‘prime time sitcom’. To help you decide whether to use this site in your curriculum, here are some more details.
You won’t find:
- any of the classic naughty words
- drug references
- overt sexual references
You may find, usually in small amounts:
- ‘Butts’, ‘bums’, ‘damn’, and ‘crap’
- The Great Australian Adjective
- Subtle double entendres for the grown-ups
- LGBTIQA+ themes as they pertain to stamp issues
- Passing references to the recreational use of alcohol
- Coarse language that has been censored (****) in reader comments which may be guessable in context
- An entire category called ‘Bollocks’
Religious institutions may cop a satirical swing (though I can’t think of any published examples), but my personal style does not tend to involve what might be considered ‘blasphemy’ or taking the names of anyone’s gods in vain.
I think I’ve found most of the naughty stuff. Let me know if you find anything further of concern, and I’ll see what I reckon.
I’ll admit, it’s been fun harnessing the language of the streets to talk about such a decorous hobby, but it was always only a flourish. I am confident that I can be impertinent and entertaining without it.
And if you think you’re going to miss the swear words, ask me how I really feel about writing this article instead of doing what I was meant to do today: commencing the trip of a lifetime to the French Riviera.
Kiss my arm, coronavirus, and shove off.
Punk Philatelist is your irreverent guide to the world of philately and stamp collecting! Hit the Follow button or submit your email for regular updates. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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