I grow old...I grow old...

this new usage of the word 'pimp' is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
B.


Everything from T-shirts to diabetes fundraisers are getting the
'pimp' treatment.
The trend to pimp those products by SHELLEY PAGE (Ottawa Citizen)

When a billboard advertising a "pimp smooth" beer appeared in an
Ottawa neighbourhood this spring, the prostitution-weary residents
were not amused. They are not alone. Across North America, savvy
marketers, reverends, librarians, juice distributors and even do-
gooders have tried to "pimp" their products to make them hip to the
younger crowd, only to annoy those acquainted with an entirely
different meaning of the word.


These days, almost anything can and will be pimped.


Participants in a recent Walk to Cure Diabetes in Ottawa, for example,
were urged to "pimp your kicks, stretch those muscles and lace up for
the walk."


For those over 25, "kicks" are shoes. To "pimp" your shoes means to
decorate them with "bling bling," says Zaheer Molu, communications
director for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.


"Putting some of your personality into your kicks is not only a fun
thing to do; it will help unify participants as we try to find a cure
for Type 1 diabetes."


These days, "pimp" doesn't just refer to a man soliciting clients for
prostitutes. In the case of the diabetes walk, it means to decorate or
adorn in a gaudy way. This definition was made popular by the MTVshow
Pimp MyRide, which debuted in 2004 with artist Xzibit extravagantly
overhauling junk cars.


Pimp also means someone who is cool, hence the beer billboard
proclaiming, "We're talking 1970s pimp smooth."


University of Ottawa linguistics professor Eta Schneiderman says
"words evolve throughout the history of a language and several
meanings of the same word can co-exist." She said many social factors
also affect language use, with age being a major one.


"Adolescents are the group most likely to adopt and adapt new words
into the language. Some kids who use the word ' pimp' meaning 'to make
glitzy' as in the TV show Pimp MyRide may not even be aware of its
origins," she said.


"Your upset citizens are focusing on the original meaning of
'pimp' ... and the beer company ad people are focusing on the newer
meaning, which is more familiar to the younger demographic that the ad
targets."


In past months, all sorts of mainstream groups have attempted to
capitalize on the word. Whether it will attract young people, or
simply irritate them, is unknown.


Pastor Ken Hitte of Discover Life Church in Florida called his
February sermon series "Pimp My Life." In Florida Today, Hitte said,
"When we say, 'pimp my life,' it doesn't matter to me if legalists
don't like my term."


In Racine, Wis.,the public library is urging teens to decorate the
library carts in a "Pimp My Cart!" contest.


The library president said if the contest brought more kids in to read
books, it was a good thing. But others said they abhorred the use of
pimp.


"To use that terminology shows a woeful ignorance of the disastrous
effect pimping has on women and girls," said one woman who runs a
Milwaukee program for former prostitutes.

georgeorwell DeleteThis @email.com wrote:
> this new usage of the word 'pimp' is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
> B.
>
>
> Everything from T-shirts to diabetes fundraisers are getting the
> 'pimp' treatment.
> The trend to pimp those products by SHELLEY PAGE (Ottawa Citizen)
>
> When a billboard advertising a "pimp smooth" beer appeared in an
> Ottawa neighbourhood this spring, the prostitution-weary residents
> were not amused. They are not alone. Across North America, savvy
> marketers, reverends, librarians, juice distributors and even do-
> gooders have tried to "pimp" their products to make them hip to the
> younger crowd, only to annoy those acquainted with an entirely
> different meaning of the word.
>
>
> These days, almost anything can and will be pimped.
>
>
> Participants in a recent Walk to Cure Diabetes in Ottawa, for example,
> were urged to "pimp your kicks, stretch those muscles and lace up for
> the walk."
>
>
> For those over 25, "kicks" are shoes. To "pimp" your shoes means to
> decorate them with "bling bling," says Zaheer Molu, communications
> director for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
>
>
> "Putting some of your personality into your kicks is not only a fun
> thing to do; it will help unify participants as we try to find a cure
> for Type 1 diabetes."
>
>
> These days, "pimp" doesn't just refer to a man soliciting clients for
> prostitutes. In the case of the diabetes walk, it means to decorate or
> adorn in a gaudy way. This definition was made popular by the MTVshow
> Pimp MyRide, which debuted in 2004 with artist Xzibit extravagantly
> overhauling junk cars.
>
>
> Pimp also means someone who is cool, hence the beer billboard
> proclaiming, "We're talking 1970s pimp smooth."
>
>
> University of Ottawa linguistics professor Eta Schneiderman says
> "words evolve throughout the history of a language and several
> meanings of the same word can co-exist." She said many social factors
> also affect language use, with age being a major one.
>
>
> "Adolescents are the group most likely to adopt and adapt new words
> into the language. Some kids who use the word ' pimp' meaning 'to make
> glitzy' as in the TV show Pimp MyRide may not even be aware of its
> origins," she said.
>
>
> "Your upset citizens are focusing on the original meaning of
> 'pimp' ... and the beer company ad people are focusing on the newer
> meaning, which is more familiar to the younger demographic that the ad
> targets."
>
>
> In past months, all sorts of mainstream groups have attempted to
> capitalize on the word. Whether it will attract young people, or
> simply irritate them, is unknown.
>
>
> Pastor Ken Hitte of Discover Life Church in Florida called his
> February sermon series "Pimp My Life." In Florida Today, Hitte said,
> "When we say, 'pimp my life,' it doesn't matter to me if legalists
> don't like my term."
>
>
> In Racine, Wis.,the public library is urging teens to decorate the
> library carts in a "Pimp My Cart!" contest.
>
>
> The library president said if the contest brought more kids in to read
> books, it was a good thing. But others said they abhorred the use of
> pimp.
>
>
> "To use that terminology shows a woeful ignorance of the disastrous
> effect pimping has on women and girls," said one woman who runs a
> Milwaukee program for former prostitutes.
>


I went off on a kid in a shopping mall a few weeks ago. He was telling a
female friend, "I'm your pimp. You do what I say." You're calling her a
slave, I said. You don't call anyone a slave, not even as a joke. He
made a show of apologizing, to her and to me. Evidence, probably, that
I'm enough of a fossil to qualify for the pretense of respect for elders.

/M