Profanity has been on the up in pop culture. There was once a time when people wouldn't say certain things on television because the were deemed inappropriate, but that time is long gone. While you still aren't really allowed to say some things on public channels, private channels such as HBO and Starz can show what ever they want. George Carlin's famous monologue '7 Words You Can Never Say on Television' (if you haven't seen it, look it up) gives the baddest words, but there are plenty of others that can be equally rude or offensive. But these words have become so commonplace in our culture, that people are no longer surprised if they start being said on television. I was watching a television show the other day, and someone say 'shit' in it. It was an 8 o'clock time slot on a major network like CBS. Was that allowed 15 years ago? Somehow I doubt it. I hear younger and younger kids using profanity without even knowing what it means, and some day, someone is going to get in huge trouble with their parents for calling their younger sister a bitch.
Cussing really has no use unless someone is really emotional about their speaking topic. Dropping the F-bomb because it makes you seem cool is pretty overrated, and gives people around you a bad first impression. So next time you hear someone cussing up a storm on the street, tell them to 'Kiss your ascot and close the front door.'
I do curse, but I know when to do it so that is a huge part of it. I guess I'm not against it because I think there are times when cursing is no big deal and they can accentuate points by doing so. I think that cursing makes things funnier too though because of that accentuating of ideas, this can be seen most in shows like south park. I think that cursing has a purpose in it and that is worth noting because if it is correctly used within that purpose then I don't have a problem with it. I just see curses at words and don't take offense to them really.
ReplyDeleteI read about an interesting study a while ago that actually proved that swearing while in pain reduced the pain. I'm pretty sure they had the participants put their hands in ice water and saw how long they could keep it in, and the participants who would swear could leave them in significantly longer than ones who couldn't.. I thought it was pretty cool.
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