As an English teacher, the significance of words means a lot to me. Words are powerful, if you use them correctly. I have always been intrigued by the power people give to certain words, as it they should somehow mean more when there are other words that mean the exact same thing but are somehow less offensive. For example, I heard one of my neighbors tell her ten-year-old son to use the word buns instead of ass and I thought, "What's the difference? He's just substituting one word for another, and all you're really telling him is to use a different word around you." Why should he do that, especially when everyone knows he's going to say ass when he's around his friends and buns when he's around his mom. It's not a sign of respect that he doesn't use "bad" language around his mother.
The truth is, there's really no reason not to use "profanity". The actual definition is "to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt", and the last time I checked, asses, shit, and sex certainly weren't sacred (unless you're uber religious, in which case your opinion doesn't count). Some of the smartest people I know say fuck all the time. Does that cancel out the rest of what they say? No. So what's the big fuckin' deal? Why does it really matter if you say poop instead of shit or ass instead of tushie? It only really offends those who have a fucking stick up their asses so far that they believe their shit doesn't stink. Why humor those people? Why limit our freedom of speech just because it upsets someone? Putting up a front so as not to offend anyone is pretty much just lying about who you really are.
*NOTE: Please note the definition of profanity in the title link. Words that are considered to be name-calling or hate-speech, such as bitch, cunt, nigger, spic, etc... are not in the same arena as the so-called seven words you can't say on TV. Though people have the freedom to use these words if they chose, they are considered to be inflammatory when directed at a particular person, and are NOT socially acceptable for general usage. In any case, I DO NOT demand that people stop using them, however, I will not allow their usage in my presence. Part of a free society is the ability to walk away (or delete if necessary).
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Who will rage against the dying of the light? People should not be afraid of their government. A government should be afriad of its people.
Who will rage against the dying of the light? People should not be afraid of their government. A government should be afriad of its people.
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19 comments:
I used to cuss a lot in school. I guess I picked it up from everyone else because my parents really never cussed. However, one day I saw a highschool person a grade or two above me in a store and he proceeded to cuss about every other word. It was so bad that I became embarrassed. Cussing adds nothing to a conversation. It is a filler for those with a vocabulary to small to come up with something else to say. Right there, I quit cussing and am glad. There is nothing that turns me off more than someone who thinks they have to say fuck five times a minute to get their point across.
You may be right that there is no reason not to use profanity but there is certainly no reason to use it either.
UWL,
We agree here. I would remove my children (both pre-teen) from a situation that profanity was prevalent.
js
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Appropriateness is the key and I swear all the time.
Profanity has very little to do with the actual words. When my neighbor, the bible thumper, mentions values that to me is profane.
It's not a sign of respect that he doesn't use "bad" language around his mother.
It is a sign of disrespect if he uses language she doesn't like where she can hear it.
It's his right to do it anyway, but it is disrespectful to do something in front of your mom that she asks you not to do in front of her.
In my opinion.
Jsull,
I think you missed the point of the post. I would NOT remove my children from a situation in which someone was cussing. I don't see a problem with it. I would explain to them that in certain situtions people make rules to limit free speech, one of them is in school, and they are expected to follow those rules. I would also explain that those are "age group" words, and when the other kids in their age group start using them (around the age of 13, usually), I don't care if they use them as well as long as they are in conversation and not DIRECTED at a particular person.
Anon,
I do not allow anonymous posts on my blog. Please chose a name or you will be deleted.
Cranky,
Excellent point. We need to teach the appropriate times to use the words rather than ban them all together. I also feel that mention of religion or the bible is profane, as well as values, morals, etc... because that, to me, is treating somethign sacred with abuse.
AQ,
My point was more directed towardf her childishness than his disrespect. I guess I should have written that usign "bad" language is not disrespectful, and to feel it is and ask that another word be substituted is childish. I agree, it is disrespectful to do something in front of ANYONE that your mom doesn't want you to do.
If you look at the history of profanity, and what words were once considered lewd, you see that trying to ban those words is pointless if the intent is still there. My favorite example is on Battlestar Galactica (the new series) they use "Frack" instead of "Fuck". I hear "fuck" when they say "frack" because I knew that they really mean "fuck" and so does every other person with half a brain. So really, what's the point?
FUCK!
MORE COWBELL!
I like when the bible thumpists say "gosh darnit." They don't realize they are sinning by intending sin in the form taking the lords name in vain.
Jesus talks about this in the sermon on the mount. This is a basic tenate of their mythology but they think they can gloss it over by using meaningless words instead.
How profane is that?
I just dropped ice cream on my shirt.
Pisser!
I hate the indiscriminate use of swear words. It cheapens them, makes them humdrum & everyday. Keep swear words special, only use them at times of crisis.
And as my father told me when I first used the F'ing word near him. Fuck is a verb, not an adjective. I will tolerate bad language but not bad grammar.
And I apologise humbly to my sister-in -aw for teaching her twins to shout arse down the phone when they were 3.
Interesting detail about profanity--they are the most etymologically robust words in our language. They trace back further in history than all the euphemisms.
they are also among the funnest words to say. Most swear words are a treat for the mouth, though if you're a real master you can involve the whole body.
If you can use a euphemism, you might as well go ahead and use the real word, it's more honest (if less polite, so dont swear around your mother... unless she does it first).
Rich,
As you shold. My first word was shit. Apparently I fell out of a chair. At 9 months my parents were suprised that I knew how to use the word correctly.
Dave,
That's been one of the biggest arguments as I have travelled into adulthood. My parents could swear around me, but even at 24, I couldn't swear around them. My sister, who is 3 years younger, could, which really pissed me off. Finally I was able to convince them that there WAS a double standard (they never see one where she's concerned) and stopped complaining when I say shit or ass. No one's allowed to say fuck, and thoguh I think it's silly, I abide by it, though my husband slips occasionally.
LOL Rebellion seems to have no age boundries.
Civility and respect are in very short supply and I am afraid after reading this a lost cause. *sigh*
I think the current state of the nation makes it clear that civility is in short supply, especially where our military is concerned, and respect for our civil rights has been out the window for quite some time.
I have to say that I agree with most of what you said. I am fairly liberal minded on this subject with respect to my teen son. I let him watch shows with "bad words". I do think, though, that "code switching" is an important skill in life. K can say things around me that he can't say around his 81 year old grandma, and that's okay. I know that, personally, I tend to swear more in situations that I know it's accepted, but I keep myself in check more when I'm not sure. My perspective is one of a speech therapist (where I teach kids about language and use on a daily basis) and because of how I was raised and talked to. I don't like how some situations are more "uptight" than others, but I'm willing to make adjustments so I don't look like an ass. :-P
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush expressed frustration Monday at attempts to get U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to do more to end the conflict in Lebanon.
During a photo opportunity where there was an open microphone, Bush was heard expressing his frustration to British Prime Minister Tony Blair using an expletive.
Bush and Blair were aware that the event was a photo opportunity and that the media was present. Blair later turned off the microphone.
Earlier in the day, Blair and Annan called for the deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon, in order to end the spiraling conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The text of their conversation is as follows:
Bush: What about Kofi Annan? I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically cease-fire and everything else happens.
Blair: I think the thing that is really difficult is you can't stop this unless you get this international presence agreed.
Bush: She's going. I think Condi's (U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) going to go pretty soon.
Blair: Well that's all that matters. If you see, it will take some time to get out of there. But at least it gives people....
Bush: It's a process I agree. I told her your offer too.
Blair: Well it's only or if she's gonna or if she needs the ground prepared as it were. See, if she goes out she's got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk.
Bush: See the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over.
Blair: Cause I think this is all part of the same thing. What does he think? He thinks if Lebanon turns out fine, if he gets a solution in Israel and Palestine, Iraq goes in the right way, he's done it. That's what this whole things about. It's the same with Iran.
Bush: I feel like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel and we're not blaming the Lebanese government.
As a retired HS teacher, I have to say the word NIGGER is the filthiest word in American English. I 86-ed a student from my classroom every fucking time I heard it. My principal had to deal with it because of my dogmatic position. Which was good.
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