Poll: What is so bad about swearing?

[Rawne1980]

I'm an ex squaddie, gutter mouth kind of comes with the territory.

I swear a lot. I try not to especially infront of my kids but sometimes it just blurts out. I tend to use "fuck" as a punctuation mark (not exactly but you get the point, I say it a lot).

 

[BabyRaptor]

There's nothing actually bad about "bad" words. The only reason people think they're bad is because they were taught that they are. There's no real reason behind it.

Words are sounds people use to communicate an idea because humanity isn't one massive hive-mind. What you SHOULD be getting offended at, if anything, is the message the person is trying to put across, not which syllables they strung together to do so.

Would you really get any less offended if I called your mother an "easy male companion" than if I just said "whore?" (Hypothetical you here, it's just an example, not insulting anyones' mothers.)

I think swearing reflects poorly on a person: uneducated and uncouth.

This idea is laughable. It's just an excuse to look down on someone simply for them doing something you don't like. How does the fact that I see nothing wrong with certain words that you happen to distasteful mean I'm uneducated?

It doesn't mean I'm stupid. It means that a different view than yours exists.

 

[chuckman1]

Yeah, I mind swearing in the sense that I can't do it. Mental block.

And I don't really care when other people do it, unless offensively - oh, and the whole 'they're just words!' argument is like saying 9/11 is just numbers. Or 'tree' just being letters, for that matter.

9/11 is just numbers and tree is just letters.
They wouldnt be nearly as prevelant in society if we didn't have this stupid fucking social stigma causing people to have the mindset of "i said fuck im such a fucking rebel cuntfuckshit TAKE THAT THE MAN" Overuse of any word makes your vocbulary seem small. SO saying fuck to describe everything makes you seem dumb.
But really these social stigmas are so idiotic.

 

[RobCoxxy]

I don't give a fuck.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

casually, around friends, i curse all the time, it can be used for extra lulz or expressing further emotion on a subject.


in a formal environment, or at work, i don't curse at all though, usually doesn't fit the mood/discussions.

 

[Thamian]

For the most part, I am very liberal with my swearing as an indicator of emotions such as anger, frustration, annoyance(and since one of my colleagues pointed out that I was only chiefly using the word **** and it's verb form (i.e. cunting), rather inventive as well), but I went with sometimes.

For example, I wouldn't speak like that around my parents unless I was in huge amounts of pain, nor would I around my big boss (immediate boss is used to technicians turning the air blue), or around my tutor, etc.

In short, in formal or professional circumstances (or ones in which your rather ferocious mother will take you task for it), I would say that swearing is inappropriate (why I can't articulate), but absolutely fine in all others. Especially when a cock-gargling ceeform plug isn't going back together the way it should, or the ****-fucking lighting desk has just crashed out in the middle of a gig for no bloody reason, or someone's slammed your finger between a doorframe and a 300 kilo sound desk...

Sorry, got a bit distracted there by recent situations when I was turning the air blue.

 

[DanielBrown]

Not the least. In Sweden we swear pretty damn often when we speak. Most often in the form of "jävla/jävlar"(devils!), which is our form of fucking.
Intresting fact; the description many use for something being good or bad are both the same. Skitbra(good as shit) and skitdåligt(bad as shit). Svinbra/svindåligt(good/bad as a... swine) are not as common, but also used.
It wasn't until recently I actually noticed what the hell we have been saying all these years.

 

[Entraboard]

Would you really get any less offended if I called your mother an "easy male companion" than if I just said "whore?" (Hypothetical you here, it's just an example, not insulting anyones' mothers.)

I think swearing reflects poorly on a person: uneducated and uncouth.

This idea is laughable. It's just an excuse to look down on someone simply for them doing something you don't like. How does the fact that I see nothing wrong with certain words that you happen to distasteful mean I'm uneducated?

It doesn't mean I'm stupid. It means that a different view than yours exists.

I said "I think"... it's my opinion, not the law of the land.
Swear like a sailor if it makes you happy.

If you were to (hypothetically) call my mother and "easy male companion" rather than an outright "whore", I would appreciate the former because it just seems much more eloquent and creative (and in fact, believe I will start using that expression because it made me laugh).

But imagine you just watched a movie with friends and when you come out of the theater a buddy says "Shit, man, that was fucking good" as opposed to "I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the female and male leads: the character development was truly superb". Afterwards, you go grab a bite and also rate your burger in the same way: "Shit, man, that was fucking good" as opposed to "The meat was so juicy and that secret sauce blew me away". Later, you reach your car and turn on the radio and your buddy once again describes the song as "Shit, man, this song is fucking good" as opposed to "I really dig the base line and the lyrics and half bad either: the singer can sure pitch her voice, though".

So yeah, I do believe using the same fucking six words to describe everything seems uncouth and uneducated. And like I said, I stopped swearing because I noticed how stunted my vocabulary had become: I got tired of using the same fucking words over and fucking over.

Seems you are a bit more adroit at swearing, so maybe it isn't as repetitive or mundane for you.
Easy male companion... I'm still laughing.

 

[dickywebster]

Its a gd way to let of steam quickly, but theres a point where your just swearing for the sake of it and thats just daft

 

[Aeroastrix]

I don't mind swearing, especially if its just casual or associated with something reasonable (burning yourself, falling, seeing your grandpa naked, etc.) but if someone is deliberately swearing in a manner that is totally uncalled for, like randomly being racist (I don't get insulted, I'm very thick skinned) or just someone being a total douche to someone who didn't deserve it, then thats when swearing is not tolerable.

I am all about anti-censorship, but there is a time and a place where someone just really needs to just STFU!

 

[hoboman29]

I don't view it as bad as I swear casually on a regular basis as someone else said "shit is offensive while crap is not"
off topic Why do people say crap pissed and sucks are bad I can get more colorful than that

 

[BabyRaptor]

Snip

Well, I'm glad I made you laugh. ^_^

 

[Entraboard]

I gave myself a challenge to have the word "fuck" in a 1:1 ratio with every other word in the sentence for a day. It started out a little shaky, but I got pretty good at it in the end. Then I went out into public. Hilarity ensued.

Rule of thumb for the usage of words: would you say them in front of your grandma?

Funny story: I was at my grandma's house when I did that ^^^^.

Hold on a sec... so you used the 1:1 ratio with your grandma?
As in "Fuckin' hey, fucking grandma. Fuck, those fucking cookies fucking smell fucking delicious"?

Fuckin' hilarious.

 

[WaysideMaze]

I honestly see no problem with swearing. Besides, each generation get their new swear words and the old ones die out. Think of the controversy over the use of the word 'damn' in Gone With The Wind. These days very few people would be offended by that word.

 

[Entraboard]

I honestly see no problem with swearing. Besides, each generation get their new swear words and the old ones die out. Think of the controversy over the use of the word 'damn' in Gone With The Wind. These days very few people would be offended by that word.

Go suck a lemon.
Or better yet, go sit on an egg and rotate.

I love old timey blow-offs.

 

[DuctTapeJedi]

I think it's annoying when people drop f-bombs every other word, but that's more of a "you have an extremely limited vocabulary" issue than anything else. When obscenities make up a third of the words in your sentence, it's time to pick up a thesaurus.

'In all things moderation'

I'm also quite curious as to what 'religious reasons' the OP was talking about.

 

[Dethenger]

Depends on the environment. As others before have stated, in a formal situation, cussing would be a bad idea, because they are expletives. In a casual environment, however, I don't give a shit, unless:

A. Someone has specifically stated they do not approve of swearing in a polite manner. If someone asks me, "Please stop swearing?", I will stop. However, if somebody says, "Stop swearing," not as a request, but rather as a command, fuck 'em. They don't respect me, I see no reason to respect them.

B. They cuss every other word without provocation. That's just annoying. First and foremost, these guys are the ones who spread the idea that people who swear have small vocabularies, because typically, a guy like that swears because he thinks he's hardcore, and he wants everyone else to know he's hardcore.

 

[Alssadar]

Meh, I swear when angry and when no one can hear me.
When I'm in public, I always try "Fudgenugget!" and "D'oh crap-"

However, excessive use of swearing just makes someone seem uncultured, and the "f" word, as I rarely use it, is often used in useless excess with no real reason or emotion behind to drive it that makes the word almost seem inert.

On a further note, the SpongeBob episode where they use "sailor language" is now more amusing that I can put words in the dolphin squeals.

 

[Double A]

I only mind swearing when it's every other word in casual conversation, ala ghetto speak. It gets really annoying when someone says a complete sentence where the only adjectives used are "fucking" and all pronouns/(in)direct objects are "*****" or "shit."

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

If its gratuitous, pointless and really annoying or if it was used rudely, then yes, I'd mind. Otherwise I don't really care.