OT -- Re: random cover of a range

[John Reimer]

Hello Nick,

> "John Reimer" <terminal.node at gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:28b70f8c1460c8cb5f4c18ef2950 at news.digitalmars.com...
> 
>> So what we have here is a society where people are becoming so used
>> to hearing and saying expletives and profanity that they no longer
>> think of their meaning, even though these words retain their meaning
>> still.
>> 
> Oh, I very much disagree with this. If I say, for example, "Why isn't
> this fucking line of code working?" it's blatantly obvious that I'm
> not remotely talking about sex. Or if someone tells me "Fuck you, you
> piece of shit!", I'm well aware that the connotation is nothing more
> than a very strong form of "I'm very angry at you", and that they're
> not actually talking about sex or excrement. Granted, sometimes such
> words are used for their original meaning, but in the examples above,
> the connection between "fuck" and "sex", and the connection between
> "shit" and "excrement", become nothing more than matters of etymology.
> 


You are talking about intent... I'm saying the word still means what it originally 
did even if you use it in the context you do.  I wasn't talking about what 
it connotes when you use it.  Nor did I say that people think of this meaning 
when you say it (you can read that in the above portion).  I merely pointed 
out that this etymology is important part of the definiton of how the word 
became recognized as bad whether or not people recognize that or not.  It 
wasn't just any word that became "bad".


I think there are some very good arguments against swearing.  On the jobs 
that I've worked, people notice that I don't swear even though I typically 
make no issue of it.  There is a reason that swearing is bad taste, and I've 
listed them in previous posts and so have others.


Anyway, I am getting weary of this conversation, so I'd better leave this 
before I get myself in more trouble here.  If cussing makes you happy, fly 
at it.  But I'd rather not be part in that conversation... or be here anymore, 
for that matter.


-JJR