Gratuitous use of curse / swear / vulgar words.

[bwana39]

The world has gotten to the point that the only curse word that seems to be verboten is the C-word. The rest of them "OH well", Whether it is streaming TV, to a lesser extent broadcast TV, and even this forum, the envelope pushes and pushes. F-bombs are dropped virtually indiscriminately.

I cannot sit in my living room and watch a TV drama for fear my 8-year-old will hear something I don't want to hear myself and I certainly don't want him to hear. Yellowstone and anything Taylor Sheridan produces averages 14 F-bombs an hour. Other producers are less, but they are still there.

Just a personal beef. Guys I really wish you would try to have a mite of decorum on here. Even James Hetfield of the band Metallica says we overuse the F-word and it is losing  its (shock) value. 

[hotdogPi]

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

I will point out that that particular word is the only non-slur curse word that is filtered by the forum.

[JoePCool14]

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

I will point out that that particular word is the only non-slur curse word that is filtered by the forum.

I agree. Clearview is quite the vulgar word indeed.

Jokes aside, society has become too vulgar with its word choices. I think the most gratuitous example is a subreddit that I sometimes see on my home page, "r/interestingasf***". And when I see it, I'm thinking: is that really necessary? Do you really need to browse a forum with a name like that?

Then the more you read it, hear it, see it, the more you tend to repeat it yourself. I'm guilty of this too.

An example: The other day, a mother was with her two children at church. They were going to put their books back on the shelf after the Mass, but it was full and the mother said to them, "Oh, we're screwed". Now saying screwed isn't the worst thing, but I wouldn't want to be teaching my 8 year-olds that, given what the euphemism can mean. This was at a church as well, keep that in mind.

I think one of my least favorite instances is when vulgarity is used in songs. They get stuck in your head, just kinda floating around there until you think of something else. It's also just lazy songwriting.

[roadman65]

The world has gotten to the point that the only curse word that seems to be verboten is the C-word. The rest of them "OH well", Whether it is streaming TV, to a lesser extent broadcast TV, and even this forum, the envelope pushes and pushes. F-bombs are dropped virtually indiscriminately.

I cannot sit in my living room and watch a TV drama for fear my 8-year-old will hear something I don't want to hear myself and I certainly don't want him to hear. Yellowstone and anything Taylor Sheridan produces averages 14 F-bombs an hour. Other producers are less, but they are still there.

Just a personal beef. Guys I really wish you would try to have a mite of decorum on here. Even James Hetfield of the band Metallica says we overuse the F-word and it is losing  its (shock) value. 

Don't have to see it on regular TV.  Bill Maher called Sarah Palin the C word in his daily routine that gets quoted by talk radio.


That is why I listen to Christian radio. No worries there.

[roadman65]

I'm sure NE 2 will weigh in soon here to be his usual cocky self. 

[JayhawkCO]

Eh, words are words. They are constructs that infer a meaning. There is nothing inherently "good" or "bad" about them. It's just air moving in a certain way through your airway. If I drop an F-bomb, I'm doing it intentionally for reinforcement. I don't often drop F-bombs on this forum, since there are often words that would suffice.

[Max Rockatansky]

I drop way more F-bombs at work and day-to-day conversation than I do here.  My most common slur on the forum is probably "shit."   All the same, most the time I use it is to describe poor road conditions.

[roadman65]

If I do have to drop the F Bomb here, I will use *** between letters or once I remember using (censored).

I do know some that won't hold back and use including one user calling the Hypotenuse Diesel mechanic the Richard word for male genitalia during the day when ole Saab was trolling.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Nobody gives a fuck LOL. Kids aren't traumatized by hearing the F word, nor do they become violent from playing GTA, nor do they become sex offenders from seeing "inappropriate" shows on TV. Snowflake censorship needs to end already.

[Rothman]

On TikTok, I clutch my pearls when businesses use vulgarity in their official advertising or videos.  It is concerning to me how prevalent swearing has become.

But, I also accept that yelling against the trend is quixotic.

[abefroman329]

"Gratuitous"  is subjective and in the eyes of the beholder.

[bandit957]

It's very, very, very rare that I've ever heard the F-word on over-the-air TV.

I heard it used in some congressional hearings about something not too long ago. Once around 1986, a baseball player yelled it out during a game. I saw a '60 Minutes' segment about the Berlin Wall in which I saw the F-word spraypainted on the wall. I think the F-word slipped into an episode of 'Malcolm In The Middle' once. Other than that, it's very rare.

It's rare even on cable.

[abefroman329]

I remember Dennis Rodman dropping an f-bomb during the victory rally after the Bulls won the championship in 1993. It was being carried live on WGN.

Fun fact: You can say whatever you want on basic cable, but you might not be able to find companies willing to advertise if you do. AMC used to allot Mad Men one uncensored f-bomb per season.

[hbelkins]

I used to have a rather foul mouth, but with age comes wisdom and maturity.

I'm embarrassed at my past self for saying things in public that I cringe when I hear now in places like a store checkout counter. You never know who the person next to you is and if they might be offended by your choice of language.

It takes intelligence and skill to tell someone to do certain things without using profanity.

Also, see you next Tuesday. 

[Rothman]

Come to think of it, there was that American Music Awards in 1992 or 1993 when Slash couldn't stop swearing.

[SectorZ]

I'd rather deal with curse words on TV then see ads with that gross Lume lady telling us how she puts her product in her butt crack and "under boob".

As I've aged, I feel like vulgarity is cover for the laziness in seeking to say something actually witty. It's the whole Howard Stern/FCC thing, he was much funnier when his mouth had a governor on it. Remove that limitation and you start realizing what made him amusing.

[bandit957]

Some biker guy cussed on the local TV news once back in 1977...

[roadman65]

Come to think of it, there was that American Music Awards in 1992 or 1993 when Slash couldn't stop swearing.

Hence now, they leave a delay. And it was late eighties as it was when I still lived in NJ when it happened.

Then what about ole Howie. When he was on WNBC Radio he spoke of explicit topics constantly, as it was he who felt the censorship should progress with the times and would do it against the will of his program director.

[bandit957]

I remember one time when I was about 11, some kid muttered the F-word at a store. I think it was our local Kmart. Some old woman heard him and got really mad!

Once about 5 years ago, I was in Kroger, and some kid who was about 10 was there with his family. He loudly ranted for a half-hour that he got a lousy toy from one of those coin-operated vending machines that dispenses a random toy. He used every word in the book!

[roadman65]

I remember one time when I was about 11, some kid muttered the F-word at a store. I think it was our local Kmart. Some old woman heard him and got really mad!

Once about 5 years ago, I was in Kroger, and some kid who was about 10 was there with his family. He loudly ranted for a half-hour that he got a lousy toy from one of those coin-operated vending machines that dispenses a random toy. He used every word in the book!

Not to violate what MMM was last reprimanded for, but the kid was no doubt possible on the spectrum as it sounds like a child in the news who was asked to leave a flight cause she was ranting quite loudly disturbing the other passengers over something silly.  That was reported in the news of the teen being Autistic who was problematic.

[bandit957]

Not to violate what MMM was last reprimanded for, but the kid was no doubt possible on the spectrum as it sounds like a child in the news who was asked to leave a flight cause she was ranting quite loudly disturbing the other passengers over something silly.  That was reported in the news of the teen being Autistic who was problematic.

I'm not sure. I remember kids throwing tantrums like this in elementary school a lot, and that was over 40 years ago. The difference is that they didn't cuss nearly as much.

Cussing was more common when kids threw tantrums in high school.

[bwana39]

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

I will point out that that particular word is the only non-slur curse word that is filtered by the forum.

It is generally regarded as a slur against women.

On the other words....

Just because someone else doesn't filter it when you say it doesn't mean you should take license to say it.

Would you say it in front of your grandma? Would you say it in front of your grandchild? Would you say it to the CEO  or Executive Director of your work organization / company? Would you say it over a microphone in a corporate setting? Would you say it amongst a group of strangers in your hometown?

[roadman65]

But I’ve heard women use it too. However that like blacks using the N word among each other or Polish people using the Pollock word among each other. Heck I’ve told Polish jokes in my youth and my dad would sometimes say the Pollock word when citing other Polish guys he knew.

Plus I would laugh at Archie Bunker call the Meathead a Pollock, but that was different as sometimes The Meathead was not using his brain either on occasion and worthy of a typical incoherent slur by the Bigot.  However I know we all not stupid as a ethnic group and don’t believe it, but sometimes Norman Lear did make us feel that way using Rob Reiner as his personal mouthpiece.

[JayhawkCO]

Just because someone else doesn't filter it when you say it doesn't mean you should take license to say it.

Would you say it in front of your grandma? Would you say it in front of your grandchild? Would you say it to the CEO  or Executive Director of your work organization / company? Would you say it over a microphone in a corporate setting? Would you say it amongst a group of strangers in your hometown?

I'll turn it around. Just out of curiosity, when you do think it is appropriate to use profanity? (For the record, I've cursed in front of the owner of companies that I've worked for. Pick and choose a time, sure, but it was fitting given the context.)

[abefroman329]

Would you say it in front of your grandma? Would you say it in front of your grandchild? Would you say it to the CEO  or Executive Director of your work organization / company? Would you say it over a microphone in a corporate setting? Would you say it amongst a group of strangers in your hometown?

The answer to all of these questions is "it depends."  I've worked at a few law firms where the lawyers cursed like drunken sailors.