For some reason this struck me as strange today.
When did "killing" become a "euphemism" for being in trouble? As in, "my dad is gonna kill me if he finds out." Today I heard a teenage girl scream "I'm going to KILL YOU!" as she ran after a boy who probably told Johnny she liked him.
Obviously, some people think violent video games have something to do with it. Others probably think that violent TV and movies are the culprit. What if there was more sex and less violence? Frankly I would prefer that -- and perhaps "I'm gonna kill you!" will change to "I'm gonna screw you!" or "I'm gonna get naked!"
Maybe we should start teaching our children alternatives to murderous intent. Here are a few I like:
"I'm gonna spit on you!"
"You're going DOWN!"
"I'm gonna pee on you!"
"Dad's gonna steal my car keys when..."
"I'm going to forcefully restrain you until you take that back!"
Thoughts?
If I hear a kid ever say, "I'm gonna pee on you!" in a public place I'd probably fall out laughing.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think of it, I seem to recall hearing some of my male friends when I was young (ages 7-ish) threaten their sisters with that. Better than threatening to kill them; you're right on that count.
As for why "killing" is so heavily used, I don't know. I've read that there's more sex than violence in European television. If so, I wonder what kids across the pond use as threats.