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analog · 04-17-2006, 09:12 PM

Wow... lots of emotional turmoil in here. Let's not forget we're not here to attack each other, hmm? So let's leave the personal stuff alone, shall we?

Here's me:

1. People must be able to speak their mind, in the way they see fit. No one should ever be prevented from speaking simply because you disagree.
2. People must, however, accept the consequences of their words- whether you're making racist comments, challenging someone to a fight, slandering someone, or simply using vulgar language.
3. The consequences of your words are determined by who hears them, not by you. If someone chooses to be offended by your words, no amount of your refusal to care will make them less offended. If their offense doesn't bother you, then that's that. So when you speak in a setting where you know you might offend, don't act shocked when they complain. See my #1 regarding their complaints.

So the bottom line is- if you want to curse and believe that everyone else should grow a thicker skin and stop letting a "label" like "curse word" get them riled up, you go right ahead... but then don't act surprised when your right to speak is mirrored in their right to complain about it. Likewise, if you lack discretion when it's necessary- say in a professional setting- you must accept the weight your words carry, regardless of your personal feelings.

I curse with some regularity. It depends on who i'm with, and what i'm doing. But in a professional setting, the vulgarities stay tucked away.

And I don't curse in front of kids for the following reason: Until they're old enough to understand what, exactly, those words mean, and the weight they carry, I don't feel comfortable with exposing them to words they don't know how and why to use. Now- if it was a child I was responsible for, I'd be teaching him/her the words myself, in order that they understand exactly what they mean, and when those words are less than appropriate- and why.

If more parents took a step into a place I like to call "reality", and realized that their kids are going to hear those words anyway, they'd properly educate them ahead of time. Or when they're 8 years old and hear someone say, "fuck that," they don't go to school and say "fuck that" to the teacher when asked to read from the book (and yeah, an 8 year old said that to me). My point is NOT that you should be teaching children vulgarities at the age of 8- but there's no way the parents didn't know the kid talked like that, and they should have curbed that behavior with the proper education- because then, I had an entire ROOM FULL of 8 year olds (about 30 of them) who were now exposed to it.

04-17-2006, 09:12 PM	#39 (permalink)
analog Banned	Wow... lots of emotional turmoil in here. Let's not forget we're not here to attack each other, hmm? So let's leave the personal stuff alone, shall we? Here's me: 1. People must be able to speak their mind, in the way they see fit. No one should ever be prevented from speaking simply because you disagree. 2. People must, however, accept the consequences of their words- whether you're making racist comments, challenging someone to a fight, slandering someone, or simply using vulgar language. 3. The consequences of your words are determined by who hears them, not by you. If someone chooses to be offended by your words, no amount of your refusal to care will make them less offended. If their offense doesn't bother you, then that's that. So when you speak in a setting where you know you might offend, don't act shocked when they complain. See my #1 regarding their complaints. So the bottom line is- if you want to curse and believe that everyone else should grow a thicker skin and stop letting a "label" like "curse word" get them riled up, you go right ahead... but then don't act surprised when your right to speak is mirrored in their right to complain about it. Likewise, if you lack discretion when it's necessary- say in a professional setting- you must accept the weight your words carry, regardless of your personal feelings. I curse with some regularity. It depends on who i'm with, and what i'm doing. But in a professional setting, the vulgarities stay tucked away. And I don't curse in front of kids for the following reason: Until they're old enough to understand what, exactly, those words mean, and the weight they carry, I don't feel comfortable with exposing them to words they don't know how and why to use. Now- if it was a child I was responsible for, I'd be teaching him/her the words myself, in order that they understand exactly what they mean, and when those words are less than appropriate- and why. If more parents took a step into a place I like to call "reality", and realized that their kids are going to hear those words anyway, they'd properly educate them ahead of time. Or when they're 8 years old and hear someone say, "fuck that," they don't go to school and say "fuck that" to the teacher when asked to read from the book (and yeah, an 8 year old said that to me). My point is NOT that you should be teaching children vulgarities at the age of 8- but there's no way the parents didn't know the kid talked like that, and they should have curbed that behavior with the proper education- because then, I had an entire ROOM FULL of 8 year olds (about 30 of them) who were now exposed to it.