1) What makes profanity bad if it's not used as a curse toward someone, or calling someone a name?

2) Words like darn, dang, heck, crap, screw, etc, should probably be viewed in a similar sense because you're saying the same thing, only with supposedly "better" words.

3) Does anyone know a good reference on the history of profanity? Where cursewords originated?

I realize this isn't as mindblowing as a political discussion but it's something that's been on my mind.

If you look at it in a Christian manner, nowhere does the Bible tell us to not use profanity, although it tells us not to curse someone, or to take God's name in vain. So some societal event happened at some point to make these words profane. I could Google it but I wanted to see what you all think, and if you've read anything about it.

1/18/2006 10:21:46 PM

FUCK YOU

1/18/2006 10:22:16 PM

Great example of a negative use, gg

1/18/2006 10:23:20 PM

Bloody hell.

1/18/2006 10:27:57 PM

My thoughts on the subject:

i'm not quite of the George Carlin mindset, where those words are just as benign as any other word in the English language...

but I curse like it's cool. Profanity can be quite useful if properly (and not excessively) employed.


Using euphamisms for profanity is fucking gay if you're doing it for moral reasons, although sometimes in order for the sake of maintaining social decorum.

the commandment against taking the Lord's name in vain has little or nothing to do with saying "GOD!" or "GODDAMN". I don't know where that came from, but I think someone missed the point somewhere along the line.

1/18/2006 10:30:31 PM

Golly jeepers you guys, I'm getting gosh darn peeved.

V Go fuck yourself.

[Edited on January 18, 2006 at 10:51 PM. Reason : That fucking work for you]

1/18/2006 10:45:21 PM

Shut your prissy little mouth, you locker room faggot.

1/18/2006 10:46:08 PM

I tend to agree, the elevation of certain words to "swear" or "curse" words is rather arbitrairy. I think
that it is the content of the words that matters strictly speaking. However, this is really no justification for swearing ( say verses equivalent less socially objectionable lyrics) because we are called to a higher
standard as Chirstians. The fact that many people (incorrectly) view it as a sin makes using those words a bad testimony.

By the way in this sense Christian morality is relative, in as much as certain otherwise allowable
actions are wrong because they are viewed as wrong by soceity at large. Clearly this principle is trumped by those facets of morality which we are explicitly instructed in scripture. For example, even if soceity thinks that hating a certain ethnic group is commendable, we cannot go along with that because Christ has made clear we are to love all, Jew or gentile.

[Edited on January 18, 2006 at 11:20 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2006 11:19:42 PM

you have a point

but i'll stay on the blue side of that grey area

1/18/2006 11:21:08 PM

The Knights of the Royal Order of Standards and Practices

USE YE NOT THE WORDS OF CURSE!

1/18/2006 11:21:46 PM

If you say fanny in Australia, most people will think you're talking about a snatch.

1/18/2006 11:46:13 PM

http://people.howstuffworks.com/swearing.htm

1/18/2006 11:50:32 PM

I think this scripture somes it up best from a Christian perspective..
Colossians 3:8 "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."

I do not understand why peopleget so bent up by specific words (shit, fuck, etc). The words themselves are not the problem but the thoughts, emotions, and intent that accompanies them. I see absolutely no problem with saying "Did you just see that shit?! That shot was fucking amazing!" I f a person has spite and malice in their thoughts when saying "You'll pay for that" then its no different than saying "Damn you to hell you cock-sucking faggot." Cussing/cursing is about thought/intent and not language... at least thats how it should be. Meanings of words change over time. Its like how people use "gay" to mean something completely different from homosexual now. Its also how calling someone something as basic as "Boy." can be much worse than the apparent meaning of the word would indicate.

1/19/2006 12:00:44 AM

Quote :

"nowhere does the Bible tell us to not use profanity"

Matthew 12:36-37
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

1/19/2006 12:22:40 AM

ok... so where's the list of "idle words," then?

1/19/2006 7:16:38 AM

Why, when people quote the bible, do they continue to use the King James Version when that has been shown time and time again to be more art than actual translation from the original Hebrew?

As far as swearing goes. With all of the words in the English language I tend to think there are other words that one can use without being crude or vulgar. What gets me are the folks who swear in other languages but not English and feel that is perfectly okay.

1/19/2006 7:39:36 AM

Quote :

"Profanity gives people who don't want to listen to you an excuse to ignore you."

Paraphrase from Kurt Vonnegut.

but as for me,

Quote :

"I curse like it's cool."

1/19/2006 7:45:54 AM

Quote :

"Why, when people quote the bible, do they continue to use the King James Version when that has been shown time and time again to be more art than actual translation from the original Hebrew?"

Simply the first translation that showed up when googling for the scripture. Besides, the KJV is not as "off" as people make it out to be. The older texts that were discovered after it was written do not differ that much from the ones used to make the KJV. It is a pretty accurate translation from the text it was based off of, it just uses words and manners of speech that aren't of much use today. The vast majority of the differences are in very minor words. Either way, I prefer the moern translations.

1/19/2006 10:26:21 AM

i hate corn-silk cursing

1/19/2006 10:39:59 AM

"Cursing" is nothing more than a distraction invented by the shadowy cheese cabal to keep us unaware of their efforts to spread mozzarelaism across the globe.

1/19/2006 11:04:26 AM

Throughout time, cultures have "invented" ways to stratify their society. People who behaved in a particular manner were acceptable, whereas people who failed to behave in a particular manner were shunned. IOW, it's a part of human culture to create a pecking order within society, or at least, to create an "in" crowd. By refusing to dress a certain way, or in this case, talk a certain way, people could signify that they were not among the "in" crowd. And conversely, by electing to dress or talk a certain way, people could signify that they were among the "in" crowd. It is, indeed, completely arbitrary.

What's funny is the fact that those supposedly opposed to profanity are the ones that create it. Simply by distinguishing (again, arbitrarily,) certain speech as "bad", it becomes "bad". Take away the distinction, and the speech is no more significant than all the rest of speech. This means that all the self-righteous idiots that are opposed to profanity are really the ones that make it profane! If we all, as a society, simply decided that it was silly to consider some words to be "curse" words, they would no longer be.

It seems that anti-profanity campaigners secretly (if not subconsciously,) want the words to have negative connotations. Why?--to create the illusion of the existence of evil--which doesn't really exist. Without a "devil" and "evil people" to constantly scapegoat, Christians and others wouldn't be able to exercise authority over much of their followers....

I win.
[/thread]

1/19/2006 2:01:00 PM

You have smoked yourself retarded.

1/19/2006 2:10:10 PM

I agree, more or less. Profanity is arbitrary words that people attribute meaning to.

And then they try to make me attribute meaning to them.

1/19/2006 7:35:33 PM

Quote :

"Matthew 12:36-37 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.""

What does that have to do with profanity? It's saying that there are some words which are refered to as "idle" (whatever that means), and that you will one day have to justify these "idle" words. Without the definition of "idle" this quote is useless.

"Idle" talk is also considered bad in Buddhism. But in that belief system "idle talk" is further defined as what we would call "small talk" today.

But yeah, it's all bullshit. The real problem is in the meaning behind the word not the word itself. If I said "go "peanut*" yourself", but really meant "go fuck yourself" it's no different. And if "go peanut yourself" caught on, peanut would eventually be considered a bad word.
* feel free to insert any dumbass arbitrary word you want.

on a similar note my sister always calls my 8yr old nephew a chicken head, and has for a long time. I told her she needs to knock that shit off cause he has no idea what it means and may go to school and say it, in which case his 25yr old teacher may not appreciate herself or a student being called a cock sucker.

1/20/2006 1:00:20 AM

i wonder how this guy feels on the topic?
http://www.tourettesguy.com

1/20/2006 7:26:15 AM