‘swear words’ draw their power, and their usefulness, from their taboo nature.
If a word is not seen as ‘taboo’, it can no longer convey that flavor of defiance and/or outrage that was intended.
Next time you stub your toe, try yelling out ‘fluffy bunnies!’, and you will see what I mean.
yes, when you see a nuclear power station exploding in a city.
“Oh dear” doesn’t exactly describe the carnage you are seeing.
Neither does long winded explentations.
A few swear words from a war correspondant says a million words more than anything shakespear wrote.
I’ve never understood why swearwords are considered taboo. I mean who, without the use of google, can tell me WHY shit and fuck are so bad compared to poo and shag. It’s ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic at conveying emotion more than acceptable words. Like some guy I can’t remember said:
If your gonna talk about disturbing and violent things, you’d better be prepared to use disturbing and violent language.
But As an insult? Come on. All those words are used so much as insults nobody gives a crap anymore. I can squeeze out a motherfucker and a few cunts before I leave the house. Plus, who exactly IS offended by them. I read a fantastic passage about how swearwords are never used literally. He wrote about an FBI guy who came across a head with hollow sockets and white liquid oozing from this. The guys response was ‘Oh my god, this man’s had his eyes ripped out and been skull fucked to death’.
The moral? Nobody uses them and means it literally. How many motherfuckers actually practice insest? And how many cocks are actually walking genitalia. There just words, 99% of the time used light heartily. I swear like hell. And I enjoy it. It’s better to call someone a fucking arse when your upset with them rather than clout them round the jaw.
On the censorship issue, it’ kinda linked to people getting shot and (one memorable occasion) getting their head shoved in a deep fat fryer and then shot. But saying shit? What about the children. WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
It is oddly satisfying to be able to use them on here though. Maybe becasue most other sites Im on dont allow it. I should get it out of my system.
CockArseFuckerShitBallsTwatWankerBarberaStreisandRESPECTMYFUCKINGAUTHORITAH
Muuuuch better.
your signature
that’s like sayin george bush is a genius.
Not really. Bush actually thinks he’s intelligent. Plus he won’t listen to anyone else’s point of view despite the pure crap coming out of his mouth. Believe me one thing I wouldn’t do is compare George Bush to Socrates.
Oh, for crying OUT LOUD. Can we have one goddamm topic around here that doesn’t turn into Bush bashing!??!!?
This one’s about profanity. Please go back and read Bessy’s initial post from 4/20 and comment on it or comment on some post that was relevant to it and to the SUBJECT AT HAND.
sorry jerry. 
But wadr iq bush 96
iq clinton 176
I wasn’t bush bashing, i was merely making an observation.
Jeeze jerry, lighten up! 
Sorry, Mat.
I couldn’t help it.
But then, as a determinist, you already knew that…
I doubt the IQ scores.
Yeah, where’d you get those scores, mat?
Interesting:
members.shaw.ca/delajara/IQtable.html
Anyway – I just read this thread. Until now I did not know de’trop was the originator (in ILP) of the ‘buy the world a coke’ quote (which inspired Imp’s ‘ambiguity’ thread). I hope nobody in that thread thought I was trying to figure out what de’trop meant by it or anything. 
that cracks me up.
Just to keep it on topic:
I sometimes cuss out of anger/frustration/pain/pleasure… when I don’t feel like ‘elaborating’ or when I don’t feel taken seriously. Cuss words are strong words, attention-grabbers… they speak a thousand words when you don’t have time/energy to speak them. However, they also sometimes signal a loss of control… signal that the other has you where they want you… so you have to be careful in what context you use them.
'Course, then there’s times when I say shit and I don’t mean shit by it. It’s the whole “I’m ok with you, warts and all, you’re ok with me, warts and all, we don’t have to be uptight about shit” feeling.
Sorry about the off topic, just a little curious how someone managed to link my sig with GW.
I totally agree that in an argument, (a good sort of argument, not two gorillas arguing over a pint), that if someone starts swearing, they’ve run out of things to say.
Nothing makes me warm inside more, than when I’ve verbally ripped the other persons argument to shreds, and their witty and well thoughtout comeback is ‘fuck off’. You can just walk away then and let them stew in it. Marvelous.
While I’m more towards mainstreaming swearwords rather than getting rid of them, I think if everything was acceptable some narcissists would be in serious trouble. The ‘look at MEEEE’ approach can really fall on it’s arse when no one raises an eyebrow at anything you do. It’s like those guys who copy Jackass and run around naked for attention. Everyone needs to do something like that once in a while, and if they can’t they’ll just raise the barrier till they find something that does.
fuck - it is so beautiful, vulgar, descriptive, full of feeling, and multifunctional. how can one not be excited to use profanity, it makes a mediocre sentence into something complex and wonderful…i feel bad for those sad religious bastards who think not expressing their true selves through the use of profanity in some last-ditch attempt at coming into favor with the big man upstairs. Well Bessie, welcome to the highly invigorating vocabulary of vulgarity! Fuck yeah!
While Bush’s may be suspect–I really doubt it is 96 (it HAS to be lower 
)–Clinton had an IQ of 181 or so. In fact, Clinton’s IQ is the highest of any President that has been tested for IQ.
As for “foul” words. There is no such thing as “foul” words unless you percieve them to be foul.
Why do I curse? Because at times, I am a very passionate person. Curse words demonstrate strong emotion, thus that is why I use them.
I read in some science mag (actually heard from a science nerd friend of mine) that people who don’t curse curse in their dreams, and that to be healthy you need to curse a certain amount each day, so your body has you do it in your sleep.
They’re just words and theirs no god damn motherfucking reason for me not to talk like a crazy, bitchy, asshole and or a sarcastic, cold hearted fucking bastard. Crap and shit mean the EXACT SAME FUCKING THINGIN EVERY INSTANCE. But for some dumb reason one of them is magically bad? Words aren’t capable of being bad. Only what they represent. So when two represent the same thing and one is considered bad there’s no way in hell I’m gonna believe it. There’s no such thing as brutal honesty. To all you fat asses: the brutal part isn’t they honesty. The brutal part is that your fat. You don’t like being called fat? Put down the fucking brownie, it isn’t rocket science. To all you sluts: the brutal part isn’t the honesty. It’s the fact that your a slut. If you don’t like being called a slut, don’t sleep around, or don’t let the word get around. To all you fucking cruel, maniacal, conniving bitches: the brutal part isn’t the honest, for GOD"S FUCKING SAKE, it’s the fact that your a cruel, maniacal, conniving bitch, and if you don’t like me calling you one, stop being one. Even then, I’ll probably still suspect you and call you one, so your fucked anyway. But who cares, because you’re just a cruel, maniacal, conniving bitch anyway.
^That was not directed at anyone in particular. If I mentioned you in there, then I’m not sorry at all and you can kiss my ass. If you didn’t read my whole post, please do so.
Also, I don’t have anything against fat people, or sluts. The only people mentioned above that I really feal negativity towards are those “cruel … bitches.” But the fact is, you are what you are, live with it, change it, or die/don’t bother me.
It’s my understanding that Rick James knew how to identify Bitches when he saw them.
superfreaks too…
-Imp