See the post immediately preceding yours.
Well, yeah, but I mean, c’mon! My grandfather was a Dick (a Richard that is, not an asshole), but I could never get up the courage to ask him what the deal was with that.
It’s rather interesting that “scumbag” has undergone such a softening of meaning in recent decades that many people don’t even realize its original sense. When I was in high school in the 60s, scumbag was recognized by everyone (at least, everyone I knew) to refer to a condom (often a used one), and secondarily used as an insult for a person.
Likewise for “[such and such] sucks.” In the 60s the implication of saying “you suck” was that fellatio was involved. Now it’s often used in circumstances that indicate people aren’t aware of that connotation.
I have to point out that within Ireland and Britain cunt is used as much if not more for men than for women. It is also a term of endearment, “how are ya yacunchya?”
I went to school with a Dick Hohl. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until years later that the lewdness of the name occurred to me.
I dunno about in The Emerald Isle but in England very few blokes (arseholes excepted) would call a woman a cunt…just far to nasty.
Like you said, calling your pal a cunt is a term of affection “Where’s that £5 you owe me you cunt” 
All this is is pictures of a bunch of douchebags. 
No, Asshat makes lots of sense. Telling someone he has his head up his ass has been a “you’re ignorant” insult for a long time. Saying he’s wearing his ass for a hat is just a creative way of saying the same thing. “Asshat” just shortens it to a manageable length.
“You’re wrong, asshat,” is much more clean and to the point than “You’re wrong, person who’s so stupid he wears his ass for a hat.” 
People use “douchebag” to refer to men? I don’t think I’ve ever heard that, except from some lowlife movie characters, and I assumed it was an indication that they were idiots.
I’ve only heard it, or the shorter “douche”, used for men. For the record, I’m 33. I can’t think of a single instance hearing “douchebag” in reference to a woman.
Heh. I recall it was also fourth grade when one of my more scoundrelly classmates convinced the rest of the class to chant, “Mike is a dildo!” when a kid named Mike entered the classroom. Unfortunately for us, our female teacher entered the room right behind Mike, and was similarly unamused. Like you, none of us had a clue as to what we’d said.
This Richard doesn’t 
However, the guy I’m named after (my dad’s best friend in high school) went by “Dick” as an adult. I have a suspicion that “dick” as slang for penis is a fairly recent development, based mostly on the fact that Richards who go by “Dick” are almost exclusively members of my dad’s generation (baby boomers) or older. I’ve never met a Richard of my generation (post-Boomers) or younger who goes by Dick.
I’m also assuming that Rick predates Dick as a diminutive of Richard, since it probably comes from British name-rhyming: Richard -> Rich -> Rick -> Dick. I’m not certain the “Dick” variant would have become popular if “dick” had already been a common slang term for penis. In fact, I’m almost certain that “dick” probably evolved from “prick”, as I’ve seen the word “prick” used for “penis” in some ribald Victorian literature. I also don’t think the old “Dick & Jane” grade-school reading books would have used that name if “dick” was in common use at the time they were written.
To tell the truth, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that we could credit/blame Richard Nixon (who went by Dick among friends) for the current meaning of “dick”. This is anecdotally supported by the fact that in elementary school (1972 - 1978) we (my schoolmates and I) usually used the terms “weiner”, “pecker”, “prick” or “peter”. “Dick” didn’t show up in our vocabulary so much until 1977-79. It was probably in use shortly before then, but it took some time to filter down from the high school kids. Maybe somebody who was in school in the 1960s or earlier can comment on whether the word was used in this way before Nixon?
How about that!
Oh, definitely. I graduated high school in 1975 and remember dick being used as slang for a penis maybe when I was as young as 10. I also remember guys using “dick” and “dickhead” as insults. So, this was about 1967 and may be older than that.
Probably based on the old gag, Why is a spoiled rich girl like a tampon? Because they’re both stuck up c*nts.
[non-sequitor]
I still remember the bumper stickers that said “Vote for Nixon in '72 – Don’t change Dicks in the middle of a screw.” They were all over Boulder, Colorado (which was NOT a hotbed of Nixon supporters!).
[/non-sequitor]
[continuing non-sequitor] “Dick Nixon - before he dicks you” was another one I’d seen a few times [/cns]
In fact, I suspect that part of the reason “dick” became slang for “penis” in the first place is precisely because it was a common male name. “Johnson” (for the same organ) probably has similar origins.
A true story:
My mother was out with my brother and his friend (both aged 8) walking along
the water watching the Brooklyn-Staten Island Ferry. The boys spotted a floating condom in the water. My brother’s friend says “Hey what’s that?”. My mother was a little embarassed and says to the boy “that’s a Whitefish”. My brother blurts out “No mom, it’s a scumbag!” People within earshot burst out laughing.
I wasn’t born when this happened but both my brother and mother swear it happened.