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I am of the mind that if I can avoid conflict or offense simply by changing my language, particularly in certain situations, then it's worth my while to be aware of what I say. This doesn't just apply to profanities; I believe the same is true for blasphemy and racial slurs. However, I recognize that this avoidance of offending others is part of my personality, and may very well not be a part of others', so I find I am very rarely offended by the language of others. Even when I am, simply pausing and reflecting on how useless it is to be offended soon puts it in perspective, as JinnKai has been saying.
Many have commented on how the use of profanity reflects on the user. I agree that someone who swears openly probably has little concern for whether others choose to be offended by it, but I think it's extremely narrow-minded (at best) to make a blanket statement claiming that the use of profanity is indicative of a lack of intelligence. Let me explain why I don't think this is the case. Certain words, repeated many times already in this thread, can evoke emotions that other words cannot. Perhaps more importantly, they can be an insight into the emotions of the person using them. This is recognized by many as a tool, and used as such. If you're watching a movie along the lines of Schindler's List, and a "bad guy" in the movie (Nazi in this case) starts swearing at a victim, using profanity and racial slur, do you question the intelligence of the screenplay writer? No - you recognize the language as necessary for the writer to give you an idea of the hatred the bad guy is feeling. If one of the Jews looks skyward and screams nasty things at God, do you think the Jew is stupid, because they can't think of a more eloquent way of expressing themself? Do you think the script writer is stupid because they can't send an artistic message without using "bad" words?
What about in poetry? What about in music? What about a seargent addressing his/her soldiers before an onslaught? Is the seargent's hypothetical use of swear words a sign of his low intelligence or poor leadership skills? Absolutely not! He or she can bring about a state of mind in the listener that would probably be impossible with other words.
From a reductionist's view, "fuck" is equivalent to "donut"; "cunt" is no better or worse than "frisbee". However, nobody can deny that english-speaking societies carry stigmas associated with certain words. Using these words is a personal choice, but it's important to be aware of the consequences that choice can have. Nevertheless, I think it is incorrect to say that the words are a sign of low intelligence, or should never be used in any setting.
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