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[michravera]

I can think of many otherwise good films that were ruined due to overuse of the f-word.

Unless it's absolutely necessary to make a point, swear words just make the speaker sound uneducated and tactless.

HEAR Hear!

I'd go even further: Unless you are deliberately defaming or cursing someone or something, and, in your opinion such defamation or cursing is justified, and other words don't adequately express the level of your disdain or contempt, swear words make the speaker sound uneducated. I think of using that less delicate words as one would use nuclear weapons, they often defeat the other side, but you won't want to occupy the land of those who you have defeated! How satisfying it is, instead, to encourage your foe to make haste to join the underworld and to be thankful that they have begun their journey!


That said, California has a fairly strongly worded GtFooMW law (no gentler way to say it that is adequate) and a fairly weakly worded KRETP law.

[bulldog1979]

Never. Even if it might be deemed "appropriate" in some contexts and not in others, when you boil it right down it's never actually necessary. As a good friend of mine once said (I believe repeating something he was told as a kid), swearing just means you're lacking vocabulary. I couldn't agree more, and he's certainly proved it by coming up with some pretty hilarious expressions to use instead (think Captain Haddock).

"Vulgarity is no substitute for wit." —the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Downton Abbey

[formulanone]

I have been told that one reason the level of dress on airplanes has gone down is because of the TSA restrictions. It's easier to wear pants with elastic or drawstring waist than it is traditional pants with a belt because you have to remove the belt to go through the scanners.

Oh, I bet!  In the years immediately after 9/11, I used to wear sandals just so I wouldn't haven't to untie my shoes.  This last time I flew, though, I wore a metal-buckled belt and a jean jacket with metal snaps.  Whatever...

Certainly understandable, and as airplanes become more cramped, and airports focus on places to spend money rather than relaxing free time, dressing casually and comfortably is entirely appropriate in return. Even more so for longer distances or red-eye flights.

On the other hand, airline crews rarely set any two aircraft at the same temperature, so I avoid wearing shorts. Since there's a great chance feet can get stepped on in close quarters, I always opt for sneakers with socks at a minimum when flying.

Also, one should dress for the position and respect they desire. Wearing pajamas and dressing down someone in their uniform is a little low class, except in the most egregious of airline screw-ups.

[triplemultiplex]

If the airlines want people to be less slobbish on their stupid planes, then they should stop treating their customers like cattle who have no choice but to fly.  I've been on planes where my femur barely fits between the back of my seat and the back of the seat in front of me, so why the hell should I "look nice" for those fuckers who try and steal every centimeter from the cabin?
Goddamn, I wish this stupid country had high speed rail.

[kphoger]

Unless you are deliberately defaming or cursing someone or something, and, in your opinion such defamation or cursing is justified, and other words don't adequately express the level of your disdain or contempt, swear words make the speaker sound uneducated. I think of using that less delicate words as one would use nuclear weapons, they often defeat the other side, but you won't want to occupy the land of those who you have defeated! How satisfying it is, instead, to encourage your foe to make haste to join the underworld and to be thankful that they have begun their journey!

Is this a fair summary:  The majority of curse/swear/vulgar words are gratuitous:  it is only in rare cases that the desired emotional connotation justifies their use, and using them otherwise only serves to paint the speaker as coarse and ineloquent.

[ethanhopkin14]

I have been told that one reason the level of dress on airplanes has gone down is because of the TSA restrictions. It's easier to wear pants with elastic or drawstring waist than it is traditional pants with a belt because you have to remove the belt to go through the scanners.

Although I agree with you, mainly because I do it myself, it started before 911.  I think 911 just escalated it.

[abefroman329]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

[CtrlAltDel]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

The problem with that, at least for me, is that it's like paying the Mafia protection money.

[US 89]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

But without fail, my usual belt has just enough metal in it that it almost always goes off in the scanner, so I have to take it off anyway. Half the time, the TSA agent will see me taking it off and yell at me not to do that. The temptation to say "I told you so" after it inevitably does set the alarm off is so great.

The problem with that, at least for me, is that it's like paying the Mafia protection money.

If you fly enough, PreCheck is one of the most worthwhile things you can spend money on. $78 for 5 years works out to $15.60 per year. Especially if you fly more than once a year, that's almost negligible compared to the cost of an airline ticket.

[JayhawkCO]

I only wear nylon belts in general. Better for hiking and also don't ping in metal detectors.

[michravera]

Unless you are deliberately defaming or cursing someone or something, and, in your opinion such defamation or cursing is justified, and other words don't adequately express the level of your disdain or contempt, swear words make the speaker sound uneducated. I think of using that less delicate words as one would use nuclear weapons, they often defeat the other side, but you won't want to occupy the land of those who you have defeated! How satisfying it is, instead, to encourage your foe to make haste to join the underworld and to be thankful that they have begun their journey!

Is this a fair summary:  The majority of curse/swear/vulgar words are gratuitous:  it is only in rare cases that the desired emotional connotation justifies their use, and using them otherwise only serves to paint the speaker as coarse and ineloquent.

Pretty much. There are plenty of times to be coarse or less than eloquent, but, in most of those cases, it doesn't much matter what you say or how you say it. You could say anything or nothing at all or just make loud shrieks or grunts and the effect would be the same.

[CtrlAltDel]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

But without fail, my usual belt has just enough metal in it that it almost always goes off in the scanner, so I have to take it off anyway. Half the time, the TSA agent will see me taking it off and yell at me not to do that. The temptation to say "I told you so" after it inevitably does set the alarm off is so great.

The problem with that, at least for me, is that it's like paying the Mafia protection money.

If you fly enough, PreCheck is one of the most worthwhile things you can spend money on. $78 for 5 years works out to $15.60 per year. Especially if you fly more than once a year, that's almost negligible compared to the cost of an airline ticket.

I hear where you're coming from, but there is no way I'm paying additional money to the TSA to avoid the hassle caused by the TSA.

[abefroman329]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

But without fail, my usual belt has just enough metal in it that it almost always goes off in the scanner, so I have to take it off anyway. Half the time, the TSA agent will see me taking it off and yell at me not to do that. The temptation to say "I told you so" after it inevitably does set the alarm off is so great.

The problem with that, at least for me, is that it's like paying the Mafia protection money.

If you fly enough, PreCheck is one of the most worthwhile things you can spend money on. $78 for 5 years works out to $15.60 per year. Especially if you fly more than once a year, that's almost negligible compared to the cost of an airline ticket.

I hear where you're coming from, but there is no way I'm paying additional money to the TSA to avoid the hassle caused by the TSA.

So pay $100 to CBP for Global Entry and they'll throw in PreCheck for free.

[vdeane]

It IS ridiculous that one needs to pay money and get background checks in order to experience things like airport security and crossing the border in a way that even remotely resembles the way things were for everyone pre-9/11.

[abefroman329]

It IS ridiculous that one needs to pay money and get background checks in order to experience things like airport security and crossing the border in a way that even remotely resembles the way things were for everyone pre-9/11.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the government has published a timeline for ratcheting back airport screening of passengers.

[michravera]

Get PreCheck and you won't have to remove your belt.  Or shoes.  Or light jacket.  Problem solved!

But without fail, my usual belt has just enough metal in it that it almost always goes off in the scanner, so I have to take it off anyway. Half the time, the TSA agent will see me taking it off and yell at me not to do that. The temptation to say "I told you so" after it inevitably does set the alarm off is so great.

The problem with that, at least for me, is that it's like paying the Mafia protection money.

If you fly enough, PreCheck is one of the most worthwhile things you can spend money on. $78 for 5 years works out to $15.60 per year. Especially if you fly more than once a year, that's almost negligible compared to the cost of an airline ticket.

I hear where you're coming from, but there is no way I'm paying additional money to the TSA to avoid the hassle caused by the TSA.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but it just seems backwards! It reminds me of the old saying "One doesn't pay a prostitute to stay; one pays them to leave!" If anything, it would seem as if you are paying for the TSA to be lax in their duties and that those who make them work hard go through for free. It reminds me of Yogi Bear charging a picnic basket inspection fee. As Rice and Weber wrote in another context "Why'd you let the things you did get so out of hand?!"

I look at the direction of the world as a complex plane: There is a vanishingly small narrow band of acceptable outcomes and a nearly infinite region of unacceptable ones. But then again, that is our universe for you! A very slight imbalance of positive and negative matter led to everything we know.

[hbelkins]

I have been told that one reason the level of dress on airplanes has gone down is because of the TSA restrictions. It's easier to wear pants with elastic or drawstring waist than it is traditional pants with a belt because you have to remove the belt to go through the scanners.

Although I agree with you, mainly because I do it myself, it started before 911.  I think 911 just escalated it.

When I was in college, I dated a classmate from that town for a couple of years. Occasionally, we'd go with her mom and dad to Lexington shopping at Fayette Mall. I was surprised that her dad usually put on a coat and tie just to go to the mall. He didn't normally dress up day-to-day. As someone who hates wearing a tie, and always took one off as soon as I could when I had to wear one for work, I didn't understand why one would willingly wear one when they didn't have to.

[Otto Yamamoto]

The world has gotten to the point that the only curse word that seems to be verboten is the C-word.

That's not always the case. Certain English speakers use that as a term to describe a person with no particular redeeming value (like politicians), or someone who is rude, irritating or generally unlikeable. It's interchangeable with Tw*t.

[Mr_Northside]