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Is passive-aggressive politically-correct angst going the way of the dinosaurs and being replaced by right-here-right-now in-your-face vulgarity?
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Political correctness and vulgarity can both be ways of avoiding issues. I do not so much see replacement as two sides of the same body-bag zip. I am designing a form of
right-here-right-now in-your-face civility.
This is a most interesting time for me to consider this question, for, elsewhere, I have recently begun a project of taking apart two well-established [8 years] power factions, each of whom equates its own incivility as being 'straight forward', and the other's incivility as the reason why there is strife in the first place. Each claims its own incivility as 'what it has been pushed to', and the other's as evidence of basic bad-blood, low classless, untrustworthiness etc. The attitude of each is, "We didn't do it, and the other guys did it first; they did it because they are low; we did it because they pulled us down". Also. "My freedom of speech means that I can say what I like. If you say you don't like it, it's your problem and I can tell you to f-off. I can even require you to shut up because You are trying to stop My Freedom of speech".
My present position: Initially, an incivility - oath or hate/disapproval statement MAY WELL BE the first, or even only expression after prior bottling or suffering; an explosion of emotion in addition to or instead of the content of the issue. IMO, it is an emergency signal to 'bring on' the machinery of reason. If held on to, incivility creates glitches in the process of resolution. Unfortunately, incivility may have other functions than 'not-yet-explored expression of feeling'. It can be used as a tool to block opposing or different messages, or to intimidate the bearers, either 'once off' or as an 'I'm-so-hard' always-on force-field to make others walk on eggshells.
When questioned, some are happy to discover they have been doing it as a habit they don't need any more; others do not like the torch light. For the next few months I will explore what happens to this group as they get deprived of their long run of UNquestioned incivility, and will report back.