Swearing

'then they might as well be pissing in the wind' 😂😂😂 wow. A very honest view and a valid point, something a lot of us are wary of saying aloud, or typing in this case👏👏👏👏👍😄

It is the intent behind the words probably?.

@shaheenashapeenur probably not an opinion shared by many..but that shouldn't stop me from expressing it...😊

@blindsilence definitely....but why is calling someone a "fucking twat" any different from calling them a "stupid idiot"...it all amounts to the same thing

Aside from and connected to the intent aspect, because language has meaning. Certain words are allocated meaning that transcends the word itself. The same is true for most words, not just curse words.

@patdolan83 desensitisation. Most rules set by society are simply psychological. A word is only seen as being "vulgar" because they are not desensitised to it. Say "cunt" in America and they will stare on in horror. Say it in Britain, where it has fairly common usage, and the effect of the word is not nearly as strong. This is because they are slightly more desensitised to it. The words "stupid" and "idiot" lack power when expressed. They don't shock the person. They're simply used far too often. Even "retard" is becoming fairly common in casual conversation, when before you'd have an angry mob after you just for uttering it.

This is so true, I never thought about it this way. 👏👏

I think this is so true. However, I wouldn't want my 4 year old going around saying it.

@Jamtots @Burrfoot Agree with both of your points also. It's a tricky one.

@Jamtots that's what I was saying....we allow the words to offend us because we try to stop people from using them. I used to play for a pool team and the barmaid behind the bar would tell us off for swearing...and they had a swear box, I very politely told the said lady..."you can fuck right fucking off if you think I'm gonna fucking put any fucking money in that fucking box" she never asked me to pay again...I just believe people should take the stick out of their arses and realise there are far worse things human beings do to each other than swear

@paintingskies please don't go swearing at everyone now and blaming me 😝

@Burrfoot if we take away the power of those words they become less offensive surely??

@PurpleKel87 I agree it's very easy to fall on both sides of this one

@patdolan83 😂 I'm not a big fan of it. But if I do, I'll make sure everyone knows it's your fault 😘

I'm not anti swearing but the 'c' word does offend me, in my neck of the woods I hear and use almost all other words just not that one, plus it is quite a derogatory word in some respect! It's like the number 1 offensive swear word here. 😘 Can completely understand where you are coming from but where are the days where we talk to each other with respect? It seems our language is just full of expletives all the time. 😘👏

@sammielee46 using expletives isn't a sign of disrespect, it's mainly a way of getting your point listened to...an attention grabber if you will. Language evolves, just like most things in life, and we should adapt accordingly in my opinion. Accept these words and they become just like any other word that is used to offend..."idiot" "prick" "moron" being some examples that spring to mind

@patdolan83 it is the intent behind any word, for example I hate the words idiot / stupid / retard, for obvious reasons, if the intent behind the word is to cause offence or upset then surely that word is wrong, I'm no prude and I'm certainly not perfect but if I called my mum for instance a c**t when I'm angry with her then I'm sure she would have something to say about it. Of course fuck off can actually be meant in different ways, same as bitch, twat or whatever but the c word isn't really acceptable to me. I can see what you're saying hun, but if another child called either of my kids an idiot or stupid I'd be quite angry and disappointed, with any word it is the intention behind that word, and if we all go around meaning to cause offence or dramatic effect when we speak it baffles me how any one can ever get along. 😊😘

When I say that word is wrong I mean that word is wrong in that context.

And is 'the n word' just a word and if we take offence to it, it's our fault for being over sensitive rather than the person saying it?

@sammielee46 would it anger you more if someone called your child a "little shit" or an "idiot"? I'm guessing its the idiot one, or at best it's even...but we can say idiot on tv at any time if the day and not shit. Makes no sense to me. In my idea of the perfect world we would all treat each other with respect, but the antidote for the lack of respect problem isn't removing expletives..on fact that would be quite low down in the priorities of someone stamping out the worst things we do to each other 😘

@Burrfoot I was waiting for that point to be made.....the word "nigger" is used to offend a person of a particular race, the same as kike yid beaner and others...the words fuck shit and bastard have no difference in offence to any particular race or creed whatsoever....that's where they differ for me

@Burrfoot and again...I am not advocating the use of any expletive word to offend anybody...I wish we never stooped to those levels, but I shouldn't be able to call you an idiot any more than I should be able to call you a bastard

So the n word symbolises more than the word itself.. But cunt is just a word which some choose to be offended by?

@Burrfoot the mere fact you refer to the word nigger as the "n" word but spell the word cunt out in its entirety shows me that you know there is a difference

I know there's a difference. I wouldn't use the word because of the racist meanings... I would use cunt either but regard racism worse. Both are ignorant and offensive though.

@Burrfoot but you do assign different grades of offence to both....which is exactly what I believe also.....I hope you understand I wouldn't want people running around saying cunt all day....I used that word to forcefully make my point....in the main part I would like to know why I can be regarded as being antisocial for using the word shit or bastard but not idiot or poo?

Because language and words have been assigned that way.. You would have to look at history of words for exact reasons.. For me 'n' is offensive in and of itself whereas cunt doesn't become offensive until its aimed at someone.. Others will have different thresholds and some will since at 'damn'..

I use the odd swear word but it's not my everyday vocab my parents don't swear so it's how I was raised and how I will raise my kids having said that I'm not offended by it this is a thought provoking write well done for tackling it 👏👏👏😘