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First of all, why do we call it "swearing?" Because originally the only thing you were not supposed to say was a false oath. Like: "I do solemnly swear" without actually meaning it. This goes double for Christians when someone says, "I swear to God I'll ..."
Back when oaths actually meant something and all you had to go on was a person's word, "swearing" was a big deal. Today? It's just a lot of superstitious claptrap - like not breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder.
Secondly, the rest of what we call "swearing" is nothing of the kind. They are just arbitrary words some tightwad decided should be off limits. There are plenty of words that rhyme with profane words, plenty of words that mean the exact same thing (and can even be used interchangeably with profanity) which means they can't be "bad words" because of how they sound or what they mean.
It just comes down to a societal neurosis that keeps getting passed along to the next generation. There is simply no reason at all to set aside a dozen or so words out of the 150,000 English words still in common usage and say, "You can't say those words!! Eeeek!"
I watch any sports on tv and I can see sports celebrities getting mad and dropping the "F" bomb, saying the Lord's name in vain, whatever. I don't hear the words, but sure can tell what they are saying! Today, we actually hear swearing, like "Go to He**" in regular tv shows! People who serve the public, like the Manager (man) of our storage---one of the Managers (lady) of our apt. complex, at times say words that simply are not appropriate. They know that talking this way to the public is wrong, but seem to "not care at all".
My wife simply tells me not to talk with these people. She tells me to only talk "business" with these people, that's it. And, a lot of swearing is done today in the workplace. Heck, I've even noticed a certain amount of swearing in some of these Forums......especially the Relationship one!
So, what is going on out there with all of this totally inappropriate language??
That's how some people talk. And it's how some people have always talked. And it really has nothing to do with religion. Saying 'God damn in!' has no more to do with the Judeo-Christian-Deity than saying 'Thursday' is a reference to a certain norse deity.
You notice it more because the social prohibitions against saying such things are not as intense as they used to be, and so people do not hesitate to speak as such as much as they used to do, and media is less likely to prohibit broadcast of such speech.
If you don't like it, you can always turn off the television, or simply pay more attention to the ratings for the programs you watch.
On a side note, we call those social prohibitions 'speech codes' - or, 'political correctness' (however, it should be noted that people who complain of political correctness tend to define it as speech codes, except for those speech codes I happen to like). And since I suspect there is a lot of crossover between those who complain about both political correctness and cursing, you will rarely find such people who are willing to concede that their expectation that people refrain from cursing is indeed just another manifestation of the speech codes they normally dislike.
First of all, why do we call it "swearing?" Because originally the only thing you were not supposed to say was a false oath. Like: "I do solemnly swear" without actually meaning it. This goes double for Christians when someone says, "I swear to God I'll ..."
Back when oaths actually meant something and all you had to go on was a person's word, "swearing" was a big deal. Today? It's just a lot of superstitious claptrap - like not breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder.
Secondly, the rest of what we call "swearing" is nothing of the kind. They are just arbitrary words some tightwad decided should be off limits. There are plenty of words that rhyme with profane words, plenty of words that mean the exact same thing (and can even be used interchangeably with profanity) which means they can't be "bad words" because of how they sound or what they mean.
It just comes down to a societal neurosis that keeps getting passed along to the next generation. There is simply no reason at all to set aside a dozen or so words out of the 150,000 English words still in common usage and say, "You can't say those words!! Eeeek!"
Exactly, it's not about the word at all it's about the intent behind it.
I curse like a sailor so I guess that helps but even I don't think it's necessary to curse in like every sentence so I guess frequency is an important matter as well. If you're cursing to curse then don't but if you're cursing because it fits your feelings then please do as long as you're respecting those who deserve respect.
If people took time to know the history of these words maybe they wouldn't be so negative about it. For example the f word used to mean fornication under the king and the phrase f you originated as pluck you.
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*GASP* WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT!!
