Gentleman and Trash

Articles from Boomer Magazine in Richmond, VA

Tuesday, 16 November 2010 08:58

BY RANDY FITZGERALD

I miss the days when the term “gentleman” meant something. Not too long ago I read a newspaper article about a rape case, and during the trial the victim identified her rapist in court as “that gentleman over there.” No doubt she was taking her cues from reporters who constantly refer in their stories to all manner of criminals as “gentlemen.” I think a recent headline in the Richmond Free Press got it right: “Thugs found guilty,” it said. Good for the Free Press.

I guess in the litigious time when everyone accused of a crime is always the “alleged” offender (even when they’ve been caught redhanded in an act of evil witnessed by a dozen citizens), I shouldn’t be surprised that “blackguard,” “rake,” “scoundrel,” “villain” and “rogue” have all gone out of favor, replaced by the now-practically meaningless “gentleman”

While we’re at it, whatever happened to those most useful epithets “trash” and “trashy”? Remember Ben Johnson’s memorable line in “The Last Picture Show”: “I been around that trash all my life.” Yes, there used to be a clear designation of trash—and it had nothing to do with where a person lived or how much money they had or lacked. It had to do with how they lived their lives. I’m satisfied to grant that most folks, whatever their heritage, income, neighborhood or social class, are upstanding, self-respecting, law-abiding citizens. But, let’s face it, trash is as trash does.

“Trashy,” on the other hand, seems to have been mostly reserved to designate a somewhat wild woman—I remember a clever country song called, “I Like My Women a Little on the Trashy Side.” Since there was apparently no male equivalent of the word, though, perhaps it’s best that we retired “trashy.”

A last thought: Can anyone explain to me why so many women don’t want to be referred to as “ladies” anymore? I’ve noted recently that women in politics especially seem to dislike the term. It’s a lovely word—I hope it hasn’t been retired forever.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I shall move on to think about the word “dude.”

Randy Fitzgerald teaches modern American literature at Virginia Union University. He was a longtime public relations director at the University of Richmond and columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.