ostentatious avoidance

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

from a Talk of the Town piece by Ben McGrath in The New Yorker,
9/13/04, about a young woman named Emily Hertzer, who has dedicated
herself "to bringing civility and manners, everything that matters,
back to America." (p. 32)  the piece was about her efforts at the
recent RNC.  it (p. 34) ends with a report on someone else who was
struggling not to offend:
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After Presdent Bush's speech, a group of conventioneers came upon a man
selling "BUCK FUSH" T-shirts on the sidewalk.  Learning that they were
Republicans, the vender [sic] reached into a backpack and pulled out a
shirt that read "KUCK FERRY."  "I don't want to offend anyone," he
explained.
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arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)