Actually, a more direct translation is "pubic hair," which is SO MUCH BETTER.

A member of City Council is alleged to have hurled an expletive at last night's meeting. I didn't hear it. I was distracted by the guy in the hall outside screaming about his First Amendment rights.

Usually that means someone wants to say something horrible. And to say it LOUD.

"Pendejo," according to a list of Spanish profanity online, can be translated to mean "asshole," but the word "carries an extra implication of rank and willful incompetence," so "pubic hair" is a better fit.

It was a tough night for Council and, more generally, the city. Speakers accused the city of racism, accused a city employee of committing two felonies, called Police Chief David Moore a liar who's "not fit to serve," and then the capper: a particularly angry speaker called Council members "fuck up's" and said he was going to post everyone's picture on a website he'd call "crooked Rochester officials." [Council member Elaine Spaull later told me she hoped he at least posted a decent picture of her. She said maybe she'd send him one.]

An aside: Although it was an unusually nasty Council meeting, it has nothing on the Town of Chili in its heyday. Call me when the mayor (supervisor, in this case) locks himself in a back room and refuses to come out, or when people start wearing clown masks to board meetings. You've got a lot to learn about crazy, Rochester.

Anyway, I don't blame the Council member for her outburst. There's a time to let things work themselves out, and a time to scream like hell. There's a time to jet off to Martha's Vineyard, Mr. President, and it's NOT when the bad guys are scaring the country to death.

"What I'm supposed to say," I tell my nephew and nieces when they complain about bullying, "is to walk away or to confide in your teacher or principal and let them help you." "But what I'm going to tell you is: that never works. You've got to stand up. You've got to fight back."

Sometimes that means calling a pendejo a pendejo.