There was an article in the Tribune about our CTA's (Chicago Transit Authority) new "courtesy campaign." [With the Tribune's new stupid process you probably can't access it - sorry.] They are supposed to be "down-to-earth" signs calling for more courtesy.
In one they show a pregnant lady, with the verbiage, "Ride with heart. Won't you offer your seat? Please offer a pregnant passenger your seat. Remember, your mother was pregnant once."
However, it is the other that has people in a tizzy. I haven't seen it but apparently it features a man standing in a train with trash up to his waist. Then it says, 'Your maid doesn't work here. Please don't leave your crap behind."
"Crap" apparently is a "borderline bad word" that people don't want their children to hear. They lump it with "suck" or "pissed." They go on to say that they wouldn't use "crap" in front of their parents, and they preferred their kids didn't hear it.
What are your thoughts? I agree that trash would have been better, but I don't think it's that bad of a word. I also think it's odd to assume everyone has a maid. Thoughts?This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
With the Tribune's new stupid process you probably can't access it
I could, but what a weird site! Instead of the usual top-down scrolling it scrolls sideways. Most off-putting!
I agree, "crap" is still a bit of a "naughty" word that most people won't expect to see used in a public sign. We'd use "rubbish" instead of "trash" but either would probably be better than "crap".
Speaking of transport authority ad campaigns, here is an article about a similar London Tube campaign. In this instance the crap involved is the doggerel used to write the things.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
