Cursing
 

One thing I've never understand is why people are so compelled to include Fuck, Shit, Damn, Ass, Bitch, etc. into their everyday vocabulary. I recently picked up Halo 2 at midnight when it came out and I was surrounded by people in their teens to those in their mid 20's. I was disgusted by the simple fact that they cursed every other second.

Is "And I was like, fuck that shit bitch" really necessary for everyday conversation? I don't understand why people think it's 'cool' to curse up a storm. I have personally always found it rather immature, though it might just be a personal thing.

This even bothered me when I was in High School and everyone cursed and did it every other phrase "Fuckin' pizza" as a random example where it's just included into everyday conversation. I've always believed that the only necessary time that yo ucould include a curse word is when something bad -actually- happens in which a sufficent "HOLY FUCK!" suffices.

Otherwise, I just don't get peoples incessant need to curse up a storm all the time.

I admit I have a potty mouth. But I also know when to clean up my act, no cussing around my mother, elderly people (of which my mother is one of), customers (thought the night they ran out of space on the server, I had some choice words), and I'd never think to cuss in certain events, though I do do some "pretend" cussing - -ya know what I mean, I'm just not saying the words -- Freakin', Crud, and a few others.

I think some folks are so anesthtized to cussing, it's in movies, music, magazines, everywhere, it's become pretty much a meaningless word to them, except they don't realize that those words mean somethig to someone else...

It takes more effort NOT to say those words when you hear them floating by every day. Most people I know tend to take the path of least resistance, and so therefore the words are incorported, even though they add no intrinsic meaning.

Swearing for me is just a way to relieve some of the everyday stress I go through. But I agree with the other posters here that there is a time and a place. Around your friends at the bar while having some drinks, fine. Around co-workers and children, not so good.

I curse because it adds an emphysis on what I am saying... what would you be more likely to pay attention to:
"Here comes a bull"
or...
"Holy fucking shit, here comes a fucking bull!"

Just for examples sake...

I remember back in 5th or 6th grade almost everybody cussed. It was some sort of big taboo and the 'cool' thing to do because people told you not to. Kind of reminds me how smoking, then drinking were so cool a few years later during middle school and the beginning of high school.

Exactly my problem.

But now people are 23-30 and they're old fat gamers (Hey, I'll be one of them I bet), and it just gets on my nerves that these words aren't even for emphasis. They say "fuck" every chance they get simply because they can.

I have the worst mouth. I swear, if I ever get in trouble at work it's always because I let a "fuck" slip in front of a customer... It's a hard habit to break and to be honest I'm not that interested in breaking it. I just need to curb it a little :) But only at work...

I've always thought people include curses in their speech when their vocabulary is not equipped to comfortably enough provide similar emphasis using more "pleasant" language, or they simply choose to curse to maintain some sort of ridiculous tough guy image.

Cursing online does not bother me as much as real-life cursing, because I do not know who is behind the screen - could be some dumb 14 year old, with plenty of time to wise up, so they get the benefit of the doubt. However, when I hear adults cursing in their daily lives, I immediately lose some respect for them...

Am I being unfair?

Fucking-A-Ditty-bop.

I was a sailor. I curse like one, thank you very fucking much.

Some have said that swearing is the sign of a weak mind, and I tend to believe that. It is used most often by those who are too ignorant or unlearned to have a bigger, stronger vocabulary. Yes, that's a sweeping statement, and maybe a bit harsh, but lets be honest - excessive swearing is generally not a vice of the educated. Swearing is generally associated with rudeness or ignorance, and often attributed to those who have those characteristics, and just don't know better.

Everybody swears. It's a fact. We use it to punctuate our anger, most often. But it's generally because in our anger we don't often desire to seek out the most verbose, accurate way to analyse or synthesize what we are feeling inside. We just want out with it, and sometimes "Oh shit" is the first thing that comes to our mind. Which is something we should guard against, in my opinion.

I suppose in reality it does depend on who is cursing and what kind of cursing they're doing.

I had a European History teacher in my senior year of high school who was keen on cursing. Well, not cursing like "Fuck this" but ocassionally he'd include hell, damn and bitch (at least when describing the French king who let Joan of Arc die). He's highly educated and a good man. I suppose it does make a difference based on who's talking, what they look like, etc.

Hm... Either way, having fuck included in a daily vocabulary I think will always be a pet peeve for me. I only curse when driving mostly, and sometimes I feel like I dope when I should "Oh fuck" or something because it sounds really childish in general.

"Profanity is the crutch of inarticulate motherfuckers."
--Jerod Enstrom

The daily convo at my place of employment is riper than most locker rooms. I seem to be worst than most...every few months I notice/realize this and try...honestly...for a bit...to clean up my lingo...it never seems to stick. If I'm not cussing out some member of management for being so #$%$#@%$ stupid...I might be ranting about what a #@$%#%$#@ annoying time I'm having trying to force incompatible components to work together...maybe I'm feeling overwhelming stress from looming production deadlines or or or...seems like there's always someone or something that draws an expletive or two out of me...

there, this makes sense: I cuss when I'm frustrated. Now, to find a different outlet for frustration. I don't always have 5 minutes to spare so I can take a lap of the building (when I have done this, it's helped).

I make it a point to seldom curse. My reasons are pretty personal.
I don't think people who use cursing in everyday language are less intelligent or have less verbal skills than people who do not. However, there is a perception that people who curse are less educated and less eloquent which, of course, is not necessarily true.
I think people who use a lot of vulgarity are less respected. I know that when I talk to people and they curse a lot, I find it difficult to focus on what they are actually saying, and focus more on the explicitives. I almost become upset, because I don't talk like that, and I'd rather other people didn't talk directly to me like that.
Most of my close friends have picked up on this, and respect it, which I appreciate.

Ever hear the music this group listens to? Sad to think that the section of the store where they get their music is riddled with little black and white warning labels.

I try my best to avoid cursing around others. Not because I'm afraid of offending them, but because there's no need to do it. I have no problems expressing myself without having to swearing. Also, I think that girls that curse is a huuuge turn-off :0

I don't suppose that music is in fact exclusive to their age group. I still listen to a good bit of Tool and he makes liberal use of the f-word throughout, along with several other bands I listen to.

I've always had an irreverence to curse words in general. If the group i am in swears, i will use them, but if not I will use "acceptable" euphemisms that mean the exact same thing but are less offensive for no particular reason. Sometimes I just make up words to curse by though. (tooki kumquat!)

I've never really understood the problem people have with cursing.

As a former potty mouth I've always considered abusive use of profanity as a lack of vocabulary. How hard is it to pick up a dictionary and look up a word with the same or similar meaning? Heck, ignoramus is a much better way of calling someone a dumbass and it sounds SO much better.
When in doubt remember Mr. Mackey's song from the South Park movie.

Personally, I like to swear and cuss because it gets on peoples' nerves, it embarrasses and confuses them, and it messes with their heads. And that is a reward in itself.

I love to curse, especially in front of adults and really stuffy people. There's just something about pissing off old people that really gets me going..

Something about being rebellious I guess.

I should have been a little more clear, the "gangsta" rap and hip hop is more along the lines of what I was referring to. I'm a big fan of Social Distortion and have been for years Mike Ness doesn't exactly hold back, epecially in concert.

Que comments about my dislike for "gangsta" rap in three...two...one...

I don't think people who curse are any less intelligent than people who don't and I also don't believe I swear just because I can't think of a substitute. It's a habit, plain and simple. The same habit people have when they say, "like" a lot, or even "umm..."

Yeah I don't think so either... I usually add curse words to "spice" up a sentence. Instead of saying, "What are you doing??" I'll say, "What the fuck are you doing??" I don't think adding "fuck" makes me any less intelligent..

Now that I think about it, how can cursing be a sign of ignorance or stupidity or having a small vocabulary? It's probably true that uneducated people swear a lot more, but that doesn't mean that you're uneducated if you swear. I mean, what is a more intelligent way to say, "I'll kick your ass!"? Should I say, "I'll pummel your derriere!" I'd look like a fucking idiot if I said that.

Another thing I'll never understand is why being a dick to be rebellious is cool...

Me neither.

I curse pretty regularly, if not all the time, myself. Its just over time become habit as a part of my language. Now, I don't walk around talking like I'm Jay in a Keven Smith film, but I curse my fair share.

Sometimes I use the curse words, others I use their derrivitives. I really don't see how saying "darn" instead of "damn" is that much 'better.' You might as well be doing it and spit it out rather than tiptoe around saying a different word that is basically the same in spelling, sound, and effect.

I also realize that what society deams as vulger changes over time. In time as these become more socially acceptable, or at least less socially offensive, cursing will find a way to evolve along with it.

And I have a poster on my wall with a picture of the Hindenburg going down and "SHIT!" printed in foot-tall white letters along the top. It cracks me up every time I glance at it.

I don't consciously use curse words to spice, lighten, spark or enhance conversation in any way, shape or form.

Sometimes they just come. If I'm feeling particularly pissed off (oops, see I did it right there) a good healthy "fuck!" alleviates the feeling.

I do consciously make it a point not to curse around certain folks. My mother, my niece and nephew and the elderly. I also try to keep the content clean in public. Sometimes despite my best intentions, however, curse words come out.

Am I searching for another word? Am I too ignorant to come up with something else? Nope.
My vocabulary is just fine. Sometimes less than acceptable situations call for less than acceptable words.

I curse when I'm at school, with my friends, and at work. I don't use "fuck" as every other word, and some people have commented that I don't swear very much. I just let it come naturally.

Personally, I feel that they're just words. Damn is a biblical term, hell is a place, shit is an acronym (Ship High In Transit) as well as fuck (Fornicate Under Consent of the King). Bitch is a female dog, and bastard is a term for someone born out of wedlock (doesn't really carry the same social stigma today).

I was taught very young how to curse by my drunken sailor mouth mother (no offense to her) who ironically is a middle school English teacher. She even taught the history of most of them. Then I met my wife, who was raised in a very different household. She considered it offensive when I cursed around her and disrespectful if I cursed at her.

I didn’t understand it at first and only revised my language to her. After a while, I found that cursing was pretty useless. I just about never curse anymore. I have a sufficient vocabulary and don’t need to curse to express myself. No offense, but I think it makes people sound like uneducated trash.

I've always believed that people who swear a lot don't have the intelligence or energy (or both) to think of something else to say.

The same is true with comedy; an intelligent comedian who has a true grasp of the language can find a way to make something funny without resorting to blue.

No they aren't acronyms
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/shit.asp
http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/fuck.htm

I don't curse very often, as a teenager I had a potty mouth. Now I see public figures who let one slip at the wrong time and they have to pay for it in the media. I am not a public figure, but I don't want the possiblity of making a fool of myself in front of a crowd.

It's not nessesary to use those words, but they do make certain expressions seem stronger. It's one thing to say "that movie was really scary" and it's a whole other thing to say "I was shitting my pants from begining to the end". See? It's a whole another level of fear. :p

I do use all of the above words, not because I can't explain myself without them, but because sometimes you just need that oomph that you can't get without using them.

I don't curse in a business setting or when around a crowd innappropriate to do so, but I am pretty hard on myself when I play sports. As a youth, I played many sports and would say things under my breath like, "How the fuck did I miss that shot?", or "Damn waterboy, you fucking suck right now!". People close by can hear it but it is never directed at someone. I try to limit it in my everyday usage as well.

I curse quite a bit around my friends but am able to control it when I need to. I try to limit my cursing to times where it is needed for emphasis.

Weird, but when a customer or someone I don't know begins to swear around me, I think "How do they know I'm not offended by their language?". I only swear around people I know are okay with it and not around strangers. I guess it's a matter of being polite and considerate. Something many people lack.

Cursing adds emphasis on what you are saying. I hate it when people say it is the ignorant/a sign of stupidity. It is used to add emotion, which has nothing to do with intellect. My advice is to get a thicker skin, barring things like church or your grandmothers house, most people curse all the time.

I've recently noticed what a mouth I have on me. I've tried toning it down to a dull roar and it seems to be helping, and I can communicate the same. :)

I try not to. Only in extreme circumstances or when I'm really annoyed do I.

I used to alot as a kid... when it was cool. Now I just think people are unintellegent when they can't find a better word to express themself.

I think once you realize that they're just words, you can live with the world again. Who decided, anyway, that bitch, fuck, cunt or shit were "bad" words? I don't use them excessively, but when I do, it is to make a point. It seems to gain people's attention better than not using them. As for them being "bad words"... What can I tell ya. You're not supposed to even say "God" out of biblical context - I believe that's a sin according to some.

In today's society, curse words are so over used that they provide no emphasis or extra meaning to what someone is saying. I am not offended at all by cursing, however I think it does make people sound stupid when they can't complete 3 sentences without cursing. I don't think that you can generalize and say that most people curse all the time. I don't and most of my wife's family does not. We just don't see the need when we can express ourselves without cursing.