What does The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves mean? The beatings will continue until morale improves refers to a popular ironic expression, mostly known in the United States. The phrase is mostly seen on merchandize due to its contradictory and humorous meaning and it is used accordingly in various situations. What's the origin of The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves? Despite the numerous attributions of “The beatings will continue until morale improves” persisting despite a lack of evidence, the exact origin of the phrase is not known. There are some who claim it was said by Captain William Bligh of the Bounty, while others say it originates from an unnamed Japanese Commander of the Submarine force. These claims, however, are all unsupported by sources. The first written citation of the phrase in a similar
form can be linked to a 1961 publication of All Hands, published by the Bureau of Naval Personnel, where the phrase “All liberty is cancelled until morale improves”. A similar case, which resembles the titular expression more appears in a 1984 print of the industry newsletter Supervision, where “The firings will continue until morale improves” is written. Hence, “The beatings will continue until the morale improves” most likely originates
from the late 80’s and early 90’s. How did The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves spread? “The beatings will continue until morale improves” became a popular expression in the 2000’s, appearing on countless military-related websites, as well as countless merchandise, especially T-shirts. Its popularity was boosted in August 2021, when the band Exodus released their song “The Beatings Will Continue (Until Morale Improves).Origin
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Published at 06/11/2022
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For anyone stumbling across this after googling "The beatings will continue until morale improves", I can confirm after watching, that no, this movie does not feature the phrase, "the beatings will continue until morale improves".
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The beatings will continue until morale improves is a famous quote of questionable origin. It literally denotes how morale, possibly in a military unit or some other rigid environment, will be kept high through the use of physical violence. More importantly, the phrase is used sarcastically to indicate the counterproductive nature of punishment, and by extension, of excessive control over subordinates such as children at home or staff at the workplace.
Contents
- 1 Origin
- 2 Modern usage
- 3 See also
- 4 References
Origin
The origin of the phrase is largely unknown.[citation needed] The most commonly cited story for the origin of the phrase comes from the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II.[1][2] Supposedly, the phrase was first used by a commander of the Japanese Submarine Force.[3] The quote was not meant to be taken literally but instead was facetious.[4] Another story relates to a case in Canada over a military officer fired for political reasons in which he uttered a similar quote.[5]
Modern usage
The phrase is used commonly on t-shirts and bumper stickers.[6] Both ThinkGeek and Buy.com sell merchandise adorned with the famous quote.[7][8] Contemporary individualist philosophers have used the phrase to illustrate the "broken window fallacy" as regards to government using economic calamities as justifications for increases in taxation or other onerous regulations.[9] The phrase has made appearances on The Simpsons as well as Life in Hell, both projects of Matt Groening.[1] American rock band Murder by Death references the epithet in a song entitled "Until Morale Improves, The Beatings Will Continue", from their 2003 release Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?.[10] The phrase was also brought into public scrutiny in the case of "City of New York vs. Columbia University Intramurals Team Violence", in which a flag football team refused to remove the saying from their uniforms, citing Freedom of Speech and their well documented history of improving team morale with beatings of the lashing variety.The lyric also appears in the song "Free Your Hate" on KMFDM's album Hau Ruck. The American metal band, Lamb of God, used the lyrics "Your beatings will continue until my morale improves" in their song, Remorse is for the Dead, on the album, Ashes of the Wake. Californian Deathcore band Winds of Plague also use this line both at the beginning and near the end of their song, Unbreakable, off of their second studio album, Decimate the Weak.
See also
- One-liner joke
- Laconic phrase
- Broken window fallacy
References
- ^ a b MetaFilter:Query
- ^ Military Leadership Link
- ^ Armedforces.co.uk: This has also been related to stories of Blackbeard. The Management of Defense, found under Useful Quotations. Link
- ^ History of the phrase Link
- ^ 1967 Winnipeg Free Press (Mar. 30) "Reinstate Admiral, Dief Urges" p. 12: Mr. Diefenbaker said senior retired officers who testified before the Commons defence committee all warned that unification will be detrimental to the morale and effectiveness of the armed forces. "In the last few weeks, HMCS Saguenay in its daily orders, and I have them here, has stated that leave will end 'until morale improves.'"
- ^ funtocollect.com [1]
- ^ ThinkGeek merchandise Link
- ^ Buy.com merchandise Link
- ^ "The Beatings Should Continue Until Moral Improves"
- ^ //www.murderbydeath.com/disc.php?disc_id=5