ISSUES

Something that's been bugging me. It used to be that when someone had a problem, they had a problem. Whether it was mental, financial, behavioral, physical, emotional, it was a problem. NOW, however, I guess in an effort to whitewash the problem, it is called an ISSUE. As in, "he has a learning issue" (he's blind deaf and dumb) or "that family has emotional issues" (they are all meshuga). It's not really a problem, it's just an issue.
It's like the weather reporters discuss hurricanes. When hurricanes lose weakness, they get downgraded to a tropical storm, so they are not as worrisome. If we downgrade problems into issues, they wont be so worrisome.
The next thing you know, it seems to me, will be that eventually, the definition of "issue" will change to mean a "problem". So we (the collective "we") will have to come up with some other, softer and fuzzier word to soften that harsh word. Any suggestions for that new word?
All this reminds me of a similar trend, in regard to our black brothers. They used to be "Negroes". Then that word became deragatory, because it meant, well, "Negroes" and was associated with negativity- slaves, etc. So they became "colored people", which eventually people realized just meant "Negroes". So then they decided they just wanted to be called "black". Now it is not so politically correct to say "black", because it has become synonymous with "colored people" which is synonymous with "Negro". So now you need to say "woman of color" or "man of color" or "boy of color" or "girl of color". This seems a little strange to me, because technically, it can mean any color, and therefore does not accurately describe the color we are currently discussing, namely black. So all this is very touch and go, you've gotta keep up with the times, just to make sure you dont step on anybody's toes and offend them. Back in the day,(okay, I'll admit it - my day) about 15-20 years ago, when teens in the frum world thought something was really cool and sharp and snappy, it was "shtatty". Chas Veshalom you compliment today's kids, and tell them their shirt, hat or tie is shtatty,they'd run right back to the store and return it. As my younger siblings tell me "dont use the word shtatty, it's not shtatty". In conclusion, I just want to say - God bless the shvartzas.

I have been debating for awhile now about starting my own blog. On one hand, I have lots of opinions, and enjoy a little controversy from time to time. On the other hand, having lurked around lots of blogs, I hesitate to put myself into the category of what I think of as "Disgruntled Nudniks". i.e. people that like to vent and kvetch and stuff. So here's hoping I can keep this an intelligent exchange of ideas and opinions, and avoid the infantile "na, na, na, na kishkis you're so stupid" thing out of it.