Profanities

[ShokWaveRider]

I have to say it does make me wince to see a man call a woman he dislikes or doesn’t agree with a slut.

This skit proves the point that they are merely words. How one interprets them is a different thing.

Also what I noticed during my not so sheltered UK upbringing, it is also the way they are used and the tone of voice they are used with. Between friends even the most repulsed words can be used as terms of endearment.

Anyone seen the Movie Snatch?

 

[f35phixer]

Guy in our marina complex has a vanity license plate with "FUGIT" i have thought about asking him to turn it in and then i apply for it !!!

 

[Gumby]

I have to say it does make me wince to see a man call a woman he dislikes or doesn’t agree with a slut.

That was 41 years ago; thankfully, we have advanced since then. It is always a tricky thing to hold historical people to contemporary standards.

 

[O2Bfree]

I was raised around blue-collar working guys, and yeah I grew up comfortable with swearing. I learned to tone it down at work, though since retirement I've been cussing it up more often lately. Need to cut back on that, I don't think it's a good look for a 58 year old woman. Plus it indicates that I'm wasting energy on unhelpful thoughts.

DH was raised in the South, and you'd practically have to squeeze a private part with a pair of pliers to get a cuss word out of him.

 

[nvestysly]

Don't curse in day-to-day normal conversation. I do use profanities when talking to the television. I also use profanities when speaking about subjects in which I have an emotional reaction. I should do better (use less). It does seem like they blurt out of my mouth when I am frustrated. I should take a deep breath and use "real" words to make my statements, even on emotionally charged subjects.

 

[MRG]

I remember a project I worked on with a very quiet, super religious guy. Really nice guy and smart, a pleasure to work around. A couple months in I heard him cuss under his breath when something wasn't working properly. I listened and it was clear he was getting his cussing from me!

I made a serious goal of cleaning up my language in the workplace.

 

[Boho]

That was 41 years ago; thankfully, we have advanced since then. It is always a tricky thing to hold historical people to contemporary standards.

Many of today's professional comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, think we're way too politically correct even about more extreme things than that old SNL skit. Seinfeld stopped performing at colleges because of how politically correct that generation is. I actually agree with a lot of the political correctness, but I think the slut line was good. It's just SNL demonstrating something that's way over the top. In real life I limit the use of "slut" to women who look like my ex-girlfriend.

 

[mountainsoft]

When I was younger my mom was a church going woman. She never had a bad thing to say about anyone, never spoke a profane word, and was a compulsive cleaner.

About 23 years ago she stopped having contact with all family members. I had not seen her during those years until she had a stroke about 3 years ago. The change in her personality and behavior was unrecognizable. Her home had become a filthy hoarder house, and her humor and language had degraded into plain vulgarity. I was honestly shocked by the way she was living and the words that came out of her mouth. Living by herself for 13 years had really changed her.

Ironically, now that she is in assisted living, surrounded by other people with occasional visits by family, she has gone back to her polite self. I haven't heard her utter a single curse word since then, and she's even reverted back to her compulsive cleaning habits.

I guess the point of this is how much interaction with others must shape how we use profanities. I have no idea who mom was hanging out with during those 20 years away, but it had an obvious impact. If you spend your time with people who use a lot of profanity, I would guess the probability is high you would take on those habits too.

 

[MichaelB]

This thread is closed for discussion. A series of posts were deleted after the escalating use of an example led to unambiguous poor taste and inappropriate use of language.