Sunday Scribblings--Foul

People are occasionally taken aback by my foul mouth. I fully believe that curse words, in and of themselves, serve a useful purpose and that people who are offended by them are pussies, should get the hell over it already, and shut the fuck up. I tend to also harbor the theory that people who are offended by curse words must believe they themselves are defined by those words.

Certainly, there are words in the English language that serve no purpose other than to insult or pain other people. These are the words about which people should be worrying: Nigger, kike, spic, wetback, et al. True, these are also just words, but they were imagined for no useful purpose other than to promote a hateful agenda (which is why I don't include the words fag or faggot, which were actual words which were adopted and bastardized for nefarious purposes). Curse words, on the other hand, have purposes. For brevity, I'll cover just a few targeted by the FCC.

Take, for example, the word shit. It is a synonym for more mundane words like stuff or things (i.e. "Get your shit together and get out!"). It is also a synonym for excrement, and, frankly, the words poop, doody, and poo poo and are more offensive to my intelligence than shit. The only reason for anyone to be offended by this word is if they are being called "shit" unfairly (you can't really be offended if it's warranted, though).

What about fuck? It, too, is simply a synonym for other, more quotidian words. Even those who claim to be offended by the word fuck, if being honest, have to marvel at the sheer versatility of this word. No other word in the English vernacular can be used as so many different parts of speech. We hold great admiration for people who show as much versatility; why shouldn't we afford the same esteem to the word fuck?

Ah, and then there's the grande dame of all dirty words, the one that offends most of all: cunt. Although I can't say I often (if ever) run across the need for this word (remember, I said curse words are utilitarian), it's still just a word, people. Get over it. Say it. Bunt, hunt, runt, stunt, cunt. It's not a particularly elegant-sounding word; it's somewhat clunky and abrupt, but therein lies its usefulness. By the time you are frustrated enough to need the word cunt, using its more workaday relative bitch or its more British-sounding (and therefore more elegant-sounding) cousin twat just won't suffice. One who is opposed to the word cunt may try to argue that it, like the aforementioned general hate words, is designed to demean and malign a person, but that would be oversimplifying reality. A person who has done something so outrageous and hideous as to qualify as a cunt is deserving of such; no one deserves to be called a nigger (which, if you'll notice, is not a synonym for any another word, and therefore will never prove useful for anything other than hate promotion). 

Many who are offended by curse words posit that, because there are other, less abrasive words which mean the same thing, we should be able to use those words instead. I'm sorry, folks, but if I stub my ingrown toenail and can see nothing at the moment but pretty stars and colorful fireworks, golly, poop, or doody just isn't going to cut it. And, although I haven't often had to reach for this word, if I happen to see Ann Coulter on the street (or even on television), there's really no other word that can encompass her vileness quite as thoroughly as cunt.

Comments

[The Literary Prostitute]

I absolutely love it! Curse words are a part of my everyday speech--sometimes more frequently than I'd like to admit--and there are times when only a curse word will suffice.

Furthermore, I would rather be called a bitch than a 'moron' or an 'idiot'; and there are times when, much to my amusement, a woman is deserving only of the word 'cunt', and I take enormous satisfaction from spitting it out.

And, of course, there are times (such as when I'm in extreme pain) that George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words come streaming from my mouth involuntarily, regardless of how many young ears are standing within close proximity.

Shit-Piss-Fuck-Cunt-Cocksucker-Motherfucker- Tits.

It doesn't get any better than that, right?

[Myrtle Beached Whale]

I use so-called profanity in my writing when it is needed to make a point. I am not offended by fuck and shit at all but a woman has to really be a cunt for me to call her that.

[gautami tripathy]

Call me a prude. As a teacher I desist from using curse words. I expect the same from my students.

Truthfully, in my home no one used profanity, not my dad or brothers.

Mom? Forget it!

[deathsweep]

I have heard and used my share of curse words from almost infancy. There is no doubt that they are wonderful expletives when used properly, however I definitely use a bit of caution when it comes to their use; I am far from a prude.

[susan]

All righty then. I hear you. I use profanity, but I don't justify it or romanticize it. I'm get offended based on the context when it's used and just call me a hypocrit but I'm not down with my kids being foul mouth. I don't tolerate it.

What I don't get is your argument that everyone else should get over it. When the real deal is those who find your usage offensive should make a decision to accept your foul mouth or opt to not deal with you. But it's silly to argue that everyone else is fucked up because they're offended. That's bullshit. lol

[RedMolly]

What is it about curse words that make them funnier, and even potentially less offensive, when combined with other words?

Frex: twat v. twatwaffle.
fuck v. fuckstain.
shit v. brickshitter.

Just wondering...

Also, why does my SQ (swearing quotient) go up about 750% when I'm drunk?

[littlewing]

all i know is it bothers me when my child swears repeating the same as he heard from me.. it pretty much sobered me up.. my vocabulary has been revived!!!