Jamie_L

This almost has the feeling of a Misc. Discussions thread, but there's a moral character to it, so...

I find the notion of profanity odd. I'm not talking about sacreligious language or racial slurs, but functional words that for one reason or another are labled "obscene". i.e. fuck, shit, etc.

How did the human race dream up a classification of words that are obscene simply because we declare they are obscene? To what end did we do that? Shit and feces mean the same thing, but its more or less agreed/declared that one word is an obscenity and one word is not.

This gives rise to an odd situation: people feel they or others are "harmed" upon hearing such language simply because they agree that such language should cause harm. It's almost like these words are only obscene because people want them to be obscene.

Is it immoral to use such obscene words in the presence of people who find them obscene? Obviously if the word is used as a verbal attack, that's one thing. But if I say stub my toe and say "Fuck" in the company of someone that I know finds that offensive, have I done something immoral? If the only source of the harm is the listener wanting that to be a harmful word, should the speaker be held accountable for the harm?

Profanity just doesn't make any sense to me.

Jamie

Jacey

It makes no sense to me either, especially when considering that I think the Xian cross is profane (it's an ancient torture/murder device for baby Jesus' sake), and nobody seems to care. But slip out a "fuckshitbitch" and I'm done for.

ManM

Keep in mind that there is no intrinsic harm in anything we say (unless we shout in someone's ear). Insults are only insulting because the listener is insulted. Offensive words are only offensive because the listener is offended. While the outcome of the situation depends on the listener, I don't think the moral question revolves around him. If the profane word is spoken with the intent to harm or shock, then I think it is clearly immoral. This is the case with racial slurs. However, I see no huge problem if the profane word is spoken without malicious intent. Still, it does leave one to wonder how profanity can be spoken innocently. If it's a habit, how did it get there? And perhaps the most important question of all: how does "fuck" make any sense at all in the context of a stubbed toe?

meritocrat

Personally I don't think swearing is 'unethical' at all. Generally I think the severity of its usage depends on literally where one is at specific time.

dangin

What a fucking great thread. I simply can't fathom those who consider words harmful. Words are vocalizations meant to create symbols in the mind of those that hear those words. Each mind interpets the same sound with a slightly different set of symbols or meanings.

If fuck, cunt, asslicker, buttbiter, shit, crap, goddamnit, or anything else disturbs you, you should be assessing the symbols in your own head, not the profanity of the person speaking.

Language is fucktastic.

keyser_soze

Shit, I don't know...Better ask someone else.

The AntiChris

I'm quite happy that the irrational disgust/distaste for profanity exists.

How the fuck else could I make an impression in times of extreme frustration.

Chris

Jamie_L

So, the other part of my question:

How did some words get classified as profanity anyway?

I heard a story (can't say if it's true) that cunt was originally a benign word that roughly meant a nurturing place.

How does a word like "shit" become a word kids shouldn't say?

Jamie

dangin

Christians.

Kintaro

I find that last post offensive. The word Christian just sends a fucking chill down my spine every time I hear it and correlate it with their acts in the past 2000 years.