soft as hell
The young men with whom I spend 40 hours/week use the above phrase to deride and chide one another, often times resulting in violent altercations. The term is the modern-day equivalent of the "chicken shit" of yesteryear. Some have even shot guns at others in rival gangs/cliques over having been called "soft as hell." The sheer lack of maturity, conscience, and perspective that might lead to the wielding of deadly weapons over such name-calling is not only frightening and sickening, it's unbelievably real. I've drilled guys with questions like, "Did you really shoot at them because they called you soft?" and "Did they do or say anything else?" and "Really, you shot at someone for calling you soft as hell? Really?" All to which I receive one answer, in unison, "Yeah. 'course I did, Ms. Shannon. What do you think?" Obviously, what I think is irrelevant.
Wow.
Well, it seems that maturity and perspective are not only lacking among today's urban youth. Despite having had six years to establish its own track record on tough negotiations with North Korea, today the Bush Administration felt it necessary to lob a "Clinton was soft as hell with Kim Jong Il" volley into the fray. It's good to see our leaders setting such a fine example for the young people of today...