#913 Only the Hits

They say that language says a lot about a culture, and can even influence that culture. I think our language predisposes us to violence.
I had this idea the other day when I was watching an ATM line grow. By the time people would finally arrive at the machine, they were so agitated they would be hitting the buttons. I remembered the old admonition of some computers to “strike key when ready.” They were ready to strike it all right.
I thought how many people would be relieved if I went along the line with a WiFi ATM scanner and sold them cash for a 10 percent premium. Scalping cash, I thought. What a concept.
And then I reflected on the whole notion of providing something for an exaggerated price being called scalping. A pretty vivid and gory image for a pocketbook transaction. And violent. To equate paying a little extra with having the top flap of skin on your head brutally sliced and ripped off seems a little extreme.
Ripped off. There’s another one. You’re not just wronged in a transaction. You’re ripped off.
Money’s bad enough. It’s worse when we talk about love. How about when you flirt with someone? You’re “hitting” on them. Why is attempting to make love to someone described as a violent act? He said she was hitting on him. Is hitting on a person a more negative version of flirting with someone?
I’ve heard it used so. But I’ve heard it used by Generation Text as a giggly fun sort of thing too. Still, the description remains one that conjures up violence.
Maybe you’re only hitting on someone if you run into them at a club.
And when that relationship that began with someone hitting on someone doesn’t take hold what do we say then? We say they didn’t hit it off. “Yeah, she was hitting on him but they didn’t hit it off.”
Perhaps it was because they didn’t like the same music. She was into indie rock and he liked only the hits.
America, ya gotta love it.