Ah but define harm? Obviously physically harming someone, or taking something away that belongs to them could be counted as harm. By the logic above this means walking up to someone and screaming expletive insults at their face isn't 'harm'. Yes, many people are mature enough to not be offended by this and good on you to those people. BUT there are many people who might become quite distressed at verbal taunts and insults and even emotionally harmed.duncants said:
Is it so hard to believe that some people find swear words offensive? I mean some obnoxious people walk up to others and remind them they shouldn't be smoking (yes this is retarded I agree).
If you get right down to it, people who aren't offended by these things and claim it is their right to be a total ass in public are often only thinking of themselves. It's the same kind of mentality that denounces others for when they claim too much violence and sex is on TV. What about the children? Are you fine with your child standing right next to some idiot in the street screaming F*** at the top of his lungs? Then you get home and your kid says it. Sure the kid is going to hear the word eventually but as a parent you might want to put what this person is doing into context or you might believe that limiting exposure to the word might lessen its use.
My mates a cop and he wanders the streets of Melbourne (Victoria). No doubt he will be informed of this new law (according to an above comment it isn't new, which means he should already know). But guess what? Like many Australian cops (who swear just like everybody else) most will take a laid-back approach. It is only in extreme cases like the one listed above that you would probably ever hear of this law being enforced.
IMO this thread only has a legitimate reason to exist IF someone stubs their toe and says "Ouch shit that hurt" and gets fined hundreds of dollars.
