Dear Readers Who Are Offended By Harsh Language:
From a post on Jezebel yesterday, “Fuck Your Delicate Sensibilities, I’m Going to Swear as Much as I Want”:
The problem is that people mistake the “language is powerful” argument for “it stings my granny when you say the fuck word.” The history of swear words is interesting, but swear words themselves don’t matter one fucking bit. Swear words are what people whine about when they want a cheap way to derail an argument. Swear words are for people who don’t have anything real to complain about. I wish my life (or, at least, my awareness of the shit going on in the world) was simplified to the point where swearing could be my top priority—where swearing could be worth complaining about. But fuck that.
Please read the whole fucking thing right here.
This article appears in May 16-22, 2013.
Fuck!
For the most part, swearing is boring. Use words I don’t know so I have to look them up!
This is gona piss mammey the fuck off.
I am a well educated fucking broad who can hang with the fucking boys one moment and have tea with the Queen of England the next. I am damn proud of who I am and don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks of me.
I have been swearing, sometimes uncontrollably for the last 55 years or so. I am 60. There are times when public swearing bothers me like when I am at the zoo with my grand kids and people let the F-Bombs drop. Once when my cute little innocent daughter was about 3 or 4 she politely asked that someone “pass the goddamn catsup please”. My wife shot me a dirty look that would have shattered plate glass. I hadn’t said a thing (for a change). I like the RANGE and TUCSON WEEKLY for it’s information and general politics, but sometimes when difficult topics are discussed (especially gun control etc) it seems to undermine strong and intelligent logic when F-Bombs or other swear words are used. When intellect and logic or truth are used to make a cogent point, swear words, vulgarities or name calling compromise the argument with unneeded emotion. Logic and truth are difficult to argue against, but one can always yell louder, or think of a more clever way to tell someone to fuck off. My wife never heard her father utter the F-word. I heard him say it only 3 times in his entire life, and each time it blew my mind. I had the utmost respect for him. He was the last of the culture of true gentlemen. How often and under what circumstances one uses powerful language has a lot to do with that words potency. Sometimes I dream nostalgically for a time when public decorum and gentlemanliness were characteristics of integrity and civility, but those days are past us, and I probably would not fit in that culture too well.
I like using the sweet, musical Spanish “mierda” more than the harsher English “shit.”
I also like the sound of “pendejo.”
I learned as a child from a person who swore constantly that swearing uncontrollably was the sign of a weak vocabulary. Sixty years later I still find that to be true. I still believe important thoughts can be conveyed with better language than obscenities.
Profane (profanity et al) from the Latin that which is against the sacred, blasphemy, heresy. Before we can agree on what is profane we must agree on what is sacred. By demanding all speech bow to your vision of sacred you chose to elevate your God to preeminence over all other veiws of religion, establishing a state religion and banning speech against your Gods. For the sake of my view on the 1st amendment please keep your god off of my fucking tongue.
“Fuck” is useful as virtually every article of speech. It’s got punch, a nice rhythm, sets up other words well and generally is a very important part of modern speech. The more it’s used the more it becomes somewhat desensitized and “acceptable” in general, but it will probably always retain enough shock value to be effective, I think.
So, fuck yeah, use it liberally.
Swearing by intelligent people always seems more classy.
I have a more extensive vocabulary than most of the people I have ever met or spoken to. I maintained a 4.0 in college and was a fucking English tutor for fucks sake. When people say that swearing is a sign of a lack of language skills it makes me only want to break out the large and even archaic
words in my English arsenal and enhance them with a fuck of some sort. To these weak minded fools I shall say merely this, go fuck yourselves.