Are you tired of N-Words, and F-Words and C-Words?

Bukowski said, “I turned around in the shower and burnt my bunghole.”

I just prefer not to swear. If I’m giving an example “soandso said” I will just say it. In active conversation I believe that swearing shows a lack of ability to express oneself thoughtfully.

Fudge?
Curry (heh)?
Noodles?

Why would you substitute those?

@Elumas

Have you ever heard or seen a George Carlin gig? Puts it in perspective ;)

In a moment I will have.

I was so sad when he died. He was truly a great thinker of our times!

The classic:

Seven words

When referring to someone else’s statement, unless in conversation with a child or an easily offended adult, I do not alter the words. I myself never use your first and last words because I find them offensive. However, I let the fucks fly!

@Elumas: I have heard that theory all my life, and could not disagree more. Sometimes, there is no better word than fuck!

To each his own.

I’m tired of the word bitch being used on primetime television. What’s up with that? Seriously. F that! ;)

very interesting question! i do feel torn because i never say “the n word”. it’s like a physical block now. i guess i was always taught not to say it (although i don’t have any memories of that), and i don’t know if i could say it to save my life. it’s always been something rude you just didn’t say. ah, the other day one of my profs (she’s venezuelan, and doesn’t speak english that much or that well) was talking about the power of words etc, and she kept saying “spike”, and then she was like, “how do you pronounce it?” so then i told her (you know, the same word, but without the “e”), and it was very very difficult for me, i ended up having to say it more than once because she couldn’t hear me.

@Augustlan: Woo!

I curse like a fucking sailor, and I don’t think it degrades my intelligence a bit. I swear because there is no substitute for a well placed ‘FUCK’. I’ve always been a little irked by people who tell me that swearing as Elumas said “shows a lack of ability to express oneself thoughtfully.” You’re entitled to your opinion but…

Maybe, I thought carefully and then chose to explain something was FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC.

I say all sorts of curse words, but even I don’t like saying some, like ‘cunt’, being a gamer, I have picked up the habit of occasionally calling someone a ‘pussy’. And where would I be without ‘shit’ and ‘god damn it’ on a Saturday night?

Shit! God damn it!
Sit on my face and slam it, Janet!

But, really, yeah, this “F-word” crap needs to go. We all know what you mean for fudge’s sake.

I’m from a largely african american place and I’m white so it’s hard to avoid in the a-form. That shit just slips out occasionally.

I agree with the questioner, it’s annoying when people say “and then he said the f-word.” But, yes, nigger is the hardest, for me too, i don’t normally say it or write it, and tho i’m a broad, and a cunt, and sometimes a bitch, 1/2 wasp, part drunk and part frog, i would avoid all use of swear words around children under 12 and racial or gender slurs for all but the most justified of adult comedy. not prime time tv

Okay, to clarify I was referring to those individuals who will, before thinking of a coherent response that identifies their own position, just say “fuck you” without a second thought.

“What you don’t agree with my idea, well sir, fuck you!”

In the end it doesn’t help your case, I’m not going to sympathize with you if all you can do to defend your point is to deny mine.

evol, what does ‘frog’ mean?

Isn’t that slang for French?

Gotta love diversity

I was born and raised in the south. I’m white. I don’t know how much those two factors weigh into my opinion on this but, the n-word has so much attached to it that even in educational discourse I feel extremely, extremely uncomfortable saying it. I have seen it used by vandals and seen the effect it had on my best friend and her mother. I have seen the effect is has had on my babysitter. And I have seen the effect it has had on the older generation when they hear the younger generation say it (or if not it something so close that the difference doesn’t matter to the elders). There are some words that are so steeped in hate that there is no way to redeem them. And you can say you are “taking it back” or “it means something different when it ends in -a, not -er” or “it’s okay for me to say it”, but in the end you are using the language of hate.

So yes, I have trouble saying that word. And I would rather refer to it than actually use it. Because, if for no other reason, I don’t want anyone, anywhere to ever think that I find it appropriate to use. For any reason.

At the same time as all of that, I found myself in the strange situation of having to explain to my boyfriend recently that there was a time that the n-word was just slang and not a huge, horrible, horrifying insult. And that there are horribly rural, poorly educated areas (especially in VA and NC), where it is still used to refer to black people with no malice attached. I had to explain this because there were stories coming out of Appalachia about canvassing and phone banking where the callers were being shocked by the language of people who were voting for Obama.

And in that context, I have no ill will towards them. I know that they are using the term their fathers and grandfathers used and I know that to them, it is the same as saying they are voting for the black man. They are not the same kind of people who would write messages of hate on a beach or say something to someone on the playground. For some reason, I’m more willing to forgive them their language than I am to forgive the newer generation the appropriation of the word as in-group slang.

I think it has to do with viewing the rural use as done in ignorance and the urban use as a choice to use such a charged word. I’m also not saying all ruralites are ignorant of its hate-charged history, but some parts of Appalachia are very isolated and language can be very local. Kind of like how I’d never heard anyone use “pop” until I came to the mid-west. Ever. “Soda-pop” if they were being old fashioned, but never “pop”.

As for “fuck” and “cunt”. I use “fuck” sometimes but try to alter my use to make it appropriate to the situation. I tend not to use “cunt” because I don’t like how it sounds. However I don’t feel nearly so passionately about either of those and I don’t have a such a huge mental block about them.

Growing up I was surrounded by people who very poetically used curse words in every day language. However my mother claimed that they did this because they had no other way of expressing themselves or communicating properly but to listen to an inner city 18 year old who has cursed all his life without anyone stating it was wrong had more diction and stage presence than a Master Thespian. To hear someone at a cook out or on the basketball court who knows he has an audience roll off their oratories of dam this, fck that and sht was extremely comical. Especially when they put all three together such as “dam that fcking bullsht”.

@Pixie

Thanks for the insight! I can understand the emotional discomfort. Frankly, I’d hate to say n****r myself, don’t even want to write it for the very reasons you stated.

I’d still prefer “he used a racial slur” over “he used the n-word” though.

… despite considering myself to be a magnificent cunt ;)

Actually, the word “cunt” has rather noble beginnings. It was first used to describe very powerful and strong women. Then of course, these strong women struck fear into the hearts of men, so men turned the word into the complete opposite. Now it is used to refer to the very dregs of society. If anyone is further interested in the meaning of this word and all it signifies, I strongly recomend the book “Cunt,” by Inga Muscio. It will open your eyes.