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Swearing, cursing, vulgarity, verbal abuse

Stigmata

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It's something that I've weaned myself off doing as I've gotten older, as with every passing year it loses that edgy sort of defiant appeal it once held and simply comes off as childish and ignorant. I don't plan on being one of those people who substitutes swear words in with cringe-worthy euphemisms, I'd ideally just like to be able to express myself better than that in general.
 

Mole

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Good Taste and Vulgarity

Vulgarity I think is very important.

A work of art can be vulgar, clothing can be vulgar and even a person can be vulgar.

I think vulgarity is important because it is a reflection of character.

Vulgarity is more important than right or wrong because it goes to the very heart of the person.

I notice that a great deal of television is vulgar and so vulgarity is cool.

But vulgarity is always in bad taste, while good taste is always delicious.
 

Mole

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Vulgarity and Originality

On the other hand the Latin Bible is called the Vulgate. And it is the Bible for the vulgar people. By the same token we could say democracy is government by the vulgar people. The ordinary people are vulgar. We are vulgar. And the Vulgate was translated from the Ancient Greek into Latin, just for us, the vulgar ones.

And so by the same token the original Bible, written in Ancient Greek, is certainly not vulgar. It was the Ancient Romans who spoke Latin who were vulgar. The Ancient Greeks gave us our original bible. So the Greeks were original whereas the Romans were mere vulgar copies.

So this tells us what 'vulgar' is. It is a copy of the original.

So if we don't want to be vulgar, dear readers, we need to be original.
 

Southern Kross

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Yeah, I swear a bit but I can string a sentence together without doing so. Also I try to keep it relative to the audience.

What I really want to eliminate from my general vocabulary is the frequent misuse of the word 'like'. I hate that it makes me sound like a vacuous valley girl - its embarrassing but unfortunately involuntary :doh:
 

Amethyst

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I never swear. :rofl1:


I don't really notice when I swear or not, I swear so much. Words don't really phase me, and when I say bad ones, it doesn't phase anyone else either. Around adults and children, I watch myself, just because I'll get dirty looks if I don't, but around peers, I'll usually swear if I'm really pissed, upset, or I'm just being silly. :shrug:
 

Mole

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Me and My Swearing

Probably the most important thing is to remember it is all about me - whether I swear or don't swear; when I swear and who I swear around.

There is nothing more important then me and my swearing.

So don't be misled by those who try to broaden the thread because in fact what they are doing is derailing the thread under the quise of looking at the big picture.

And don't be misled by those who abandon the use of 'I' and replace it with 'we'. These are the people who hang around Trade Unions and are never found on Oprah.

Remember the only legitimate person we can speak for is me, speaking for others is verbotem and not a bit cool. And we know this is true because we believe in individual Salvation and individual choice.

So how natural and how good and how rewarding and relaxing to know it is all about me and my swearing.
 

Perch420

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There's nothing wrong with cursing. If you think there is, you're unintelligent and lack critical thinking skills.
 

Mole

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There's nothing wrong with cursing. If you think there is, you're unintelligent and lack critical thinking skills.

Swearing is for the inarticulate.

And most Anglo-saxon swearing is limited in scope and is scatological.
 
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Ginkgo

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I would rather swear on occasion, with precision, and with the utmost consciousness than swear on a whim, spewing mindlessly.
 

WildCard

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I tend to have a mouth like a sailor, even for a woman, but I can filter my language with ease, especially in the workplace. I use curses if I happen to smash my finger or drop a heavy box on my foot. I use them for emphasis or when angry to get my point across. Of course, as with any "dirty" word, there is an appropriate time and place to use them. Smashing your finger in church, no matter how bad it hurts, is not an appropriate place to mutter "Damn it all to hell" or "Motherf****r".

I don't mind them, but you do have to keep a professional attitude at work. This means filtering what comes out of your trap.
 

NegativeZero

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Language is nothing more than an interpreted series of sounds that humans have invoked and used to communicate. There's no reason why the sound of "front" should be any more offensive than the sound of "fuck." That being said, I do find swearing tasteless when those that should be acting formally (e.g. speaker, teacher, etc) abuse it. In a casual atmosphere, I have absolutely no problem with it. Overuse can still be annoying, though.

... aside from the philosophy of language, why is this in the Philosophy/Spirituality section? :p
 

ZPowers

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I swear pretty regularly but can filter myself in certain situations pretty easily.

That said, I think taking offense to swear words (or, indeed, the concept) is among the stupidest humans have en masse. Lark called them "words of hate", but that isn't true. Words without context aren't hateful or loving. Even seemingly good words can be used to cut someone apart, and I'll bet most of the swear words you hear aren't used that way, at least not among friends, and if they are it's all in fun. I don't see a difference between saying "fuck" and "shoot" after messing up, or "shit" and "crap". They have the same meaning, the only reason one is more offensive is because you decide it so. I find the fact that swearing is so contentious to be a problem more among those taking offense than those swearing. A swear word, especially when not used to insult, does not hurt anyone unless someone, totally illogically, decides it hurts them. So as far as I can tell, it seems like they are more forcing themselves to get offended at nothing than really being offended.

And it absurd, for example, the King's Speech was rated R solely because the main character says fuck five times, in a story-relevant way, and not directed at any other character nor used as in insult. And the fact that, when they cut three of them, for some reason now it's inoffensive enough to be PG-13. It's fickle, absurd, and to me it's telling of the entire weird attitude the nation has towards words like that.

Of course, there are a few words that are, inescapably, words of hate. And those words I never, ever say. These words are racial slurs and slurs against people of different beliefs or sexual orientations. I don't even call things "gay" in a derogatory manner as is so popular nowadays. I find THAT to be hateful (I mean, if it were well known that back in the 50s people used the term "black" in the same way, we would think it was terrible).
 

NegativeZero

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I like your perspective at the end there. Indeed, there are definitely words in our language designed to belittle and degrade. That does not make them inherently "wrong," however.
 

ZPowers

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I like your perspective at the end there. Indeed, there are definitely words in our language designed to belittle and degrade. That does not make them inherently "wrong," however.
True, even slurs can be inoffensive in proper contexts, but very limited ones.
 

Hine

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I don't swear any in posts or in person. There was a time, when i did so and during that period i was surrounded by people who did swear a lot. I had to teach myself not to swear after i wasn't influenced by these people in my work and study.

Past three years i've luckily had jobs, where a person, who swears, is considered to be an ignorant fool. In my school swearing is rarity and is not endorsed by other students.
Sometimes i try to stop people cursing, by saying that it's so easy to fill your speech with f-words, if you can't find other words to describe your feelings.

I consider people, who curse a lot, uneducated, with a limited supply of words and easily irritated. A short time ago I had a co-worker, who's every sentence included at least one swear word. White trash, muzzy-looking, high school dropout and racist - typical swear word cultivator in my eyes. Something so vile, that i never want to be. I was so happy when she quit after a month.
 

Thalassa

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It is cultural discrimination to tell people not to swear, just like it's cultural discrimination for telling people they're stupid because they say "hey y'all" and "ain't that somethin'" or maybe just "no way, dude."

I think there's a line maybe where it becomes hostile, and I know not to use certain words around certain people. Like the average person in WV (including my mother) takes the term "mother fucker" as a hostile vulgarity, while I could use it around other people in regular speech. Same with jokingly calling another person a fag or a bitch...people in our generation have tended to use these as more empowering words rather than being hate or discriminatory speech.

I think sometimes on-line certain people might think I'm upset when I'm not, until they get used to my pattern of using certain words.


All in all, I guess it's best to know your surroundings, and that it might not be kind or advantageous to use particular words, but on the other hand, correcting people just for the sake of correcting them is silly...those words have no power. They're just arbitrary words a culture of people made up and agreed at one point in time were "curses."

Frankly I think it shows a clear lack of Ni on the OP's part for him to not be aware of that, but that doesn't surprise me one little bit.
 

Thalassa

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Swearing is for the inarticulate.

What a hilariously incorrect and biased observation. Many articulate people swear. Like me. And Quentin Tarentino.
 

Octarine

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What a hilariously incorrect and biased observation. Many articulate people swear. Like me. And Quentin Tarentino.

Articulation itself is a matter of taste. One can choose to swear if that choice of articulation will get more effect. Kevin Rudd liked to swear for that reason.

Of course some motherfuckers swear simply because they are verbal aggressors.
 
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