#%$*!

**Janszoon** · 09-11-2009, 10:02 AM

Swearing, cursing, cussing, foul language—whatever you call it this is something that is one of the strangest social concepts I can think of. What is the point of creating a class of words that people arbitrarily choose to get offended by? Why is the word "shit" unfit for broadcast but "feces" is okay? Am I the only person who finds this incredibly odd?

On top of the fundamental strangeness of the whole concept there's also the issue that what is considered a swear varies from person to person even within the same culture. I always remember a roommate I had in college got upset at me once because I said "god damnit". In the family I grew up in this was not considered a swear but in his quite religious family it obviously was. I wasn't trying to offend him, in fact I wasn't even talking to him at all, but he was compelled to be offended by my use of what he considered swear words.

Weirdest of all to me is when people substitute things for swear words that still let you know which swear they meant. I'm talking about people saying things like "gosh darnit". Everyone knows the intent here is to say "god damnit" so how does slightly changing the words make it any different from saying the real words? Another recent development I've noticed is people verbally blanking out part of a word. I have a friend who constantly uses "eff" instead of "fuck", what is the point of this? I know he means "fuck", he knows he means "fuck", everyone within earshot knows he means "fuck", so what's the point of pretending he isn't really saying it?

Anyway, just some random shit I was thinking about this morning for some reason.

09-11-2009, 10:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	*#%$! Swearing, cursing, cussing, foul language—whatever you call it this is something that is one of the strangest social concepts I can think of. What is the point of creating a class of words that people arbitrarily choose to get offended by? Why is the word "shit" unfit for broadcast but "feces" is okay? Am I the only person who finds this incredibly odd? On top of the fundamental strangeness of the whole concept there's also the issue that what is considered a swear varies from person to person even within the same culture. I always remember a roommate I had in college got upset at me once because I said "god damnit". In the family I grew up in this was not considered a swear but in his quite religious family it obviously was. I wasn't trying to offend him, in fact I wasn't even talking to him at all, but he was compelled to be offended by my use of what he considered swear words. Weirdest of all to me is when people substitute things for swear words that still let you know which swear they meant. I'm talking about people saying things like "gosh darnit". Everyone knows the intent here is to say "god damnit" so how does slightly changing the words make it any different from saying the real words? Another recent development I've noticed is people verbally blanking out part of a word. I have a friend who constantly uses "eff" instead of "fuck", what is the point of this? I know he means "fuck", he knows he means "fuck", everyone within earshot knows he means "fuck", so what's the point of pretending he isn't really saying it? Anyway, just some random shit I was thinking about this morning for some reason. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die** last.fm