OT -- Re: random cover of a range

[Jarrett Billingsley]

On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 6:31 PM, Mike Parker <aldacron at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The problem I have with the stigma on swearing is that people who find these
> words objectionable tend to replace them with other words that aren't so
> objectionable in order to get the same intent across. Nick mentioned this
> already. To me, it's an absurd practice.
>
> Consider the case of insulting someone. If I were angry at someone and
> wanted to let them know what I thought of them, I might say one of the
> following:
>
> "You're a piece of shit!" --> unacceptable
> "You're a piece of crap!" --> acceptable to many, but the intent is same
> "You're a piece of poo!" --> who would object to that?
>
> My mother would not have scolded me had she heard me call someone a piece of
> poo. She would have admonished me for using "crap", since crap sounds
> dirtier to her than the cutesy poo. She would have slapped my face for
> saying "shit". But in all three cases the intent is the same. If I were
> wanting to insult someone, I would use the harshest word I could allow
> myself to use. In my case, I have no problem saying "shit", despite my
> upbringing. My mother would use "crap", because she thinks that's quite
> dirty enough to get the point across. My grandmother would use "poo", but it
> doesn't mean the emotion behind it is any less than mine or my mother's, or
> the intent any different.
>
> What of the case of swearing in general, not /at/ someone? If I stub my toe,
> I might exclaim, "Fuck!" Someone nearby might be offended by that. So should
> I take that into consideration, check my natural reaction, and exclaim
> "Ouch!" instead? I say no. This really is the listener's problem, not the
> speaker's.
>
> There's nothing inherently wrong with any swear word. Any perceived offense
> or insult behind the words themselves is a result of indoctrination by our
> parents and teachers. And when you really want to insult someone, non-swear
> words are no less vile than swear words. The intent behind the words is what
> matters most. Getting upset over the words themselves is just plain
> silliness.

Yes, to everything.  Exactly.  :D