First off, what is a swear word? What is profanity? What is vulgarity, a naughty word, or a cuss? These are the kinds of questions that most people start asking themselves as soon as they learn to think for themselves. Mommy said that [insert swear word] is bad, but why? Why is crap worse to say than poop, but it is better to say than s***? Aren't they all turds? Yes. They are.
Since I don't want to make this a monologue about bad words, I will end this portion by saying that certain words are eventually singled out by society as taboo words, and by using them one person may offend another. It's not my intention to purposely offend people because of my careless word choices, so I will do better to not use certain words at all. I am clueless as to why the f-bomb, a vulgar word for copulation, may be worse than a phrase such as "I'm eating babies for dinner," but whatever. I don't care. I will follow social norms. It's my blog, gosh darn it (no offense).
Now secondly, I am fairly certain that my generation cares far less about these things than previous generations. Oh sure, there were people that swore like sailors as far back as history is recorded. Those folks were called sailors. Haha, that's a good one. Anyways, I don't care about historical swears. If you are fascinated by this kind of crap, then check it out for yourself, because you won't find it here--tangent!
Sorry. Where was I going? Ah, yes. The internet! It is certainly the cause of our desensitization (for lack of a better word) to vulgarities because our generation has access to unlimited amounts of expression. This medium of communication was mostly unmonitored by adults and their proper social norms, so this allowed youth to say whatever they wanted. I'm making this sound worse than it really is, and I know that I am hypothesizing dramatically without citing a single source, but I have a feeling that this will bear witness with my readers, so I need to continue on without making this entry very reliable. Deal with it.
The reason that I said all that is this: I love and hate what the internet has done. What I love most is how the internet allows common people to put out ideas as fast as they can think them. An idea can still be brilliant, even if it is vulgar, or contains poor grammar and spelling. Sometimes such things need to be looked past. Now then, what I hate is the needless use of vulgarity and the wanton trashing of grammar and spelling. What made swear words so awe inspiring was their rare and meaningful use. What makes a vulgarity less vulgar? Oftentimes, it's their overuse.
I mentioned grammar briefly in my last paragraph because I want to touch on another point. While it isn't totally related to swearing, what I am about to say is in unison with the rest of my post. I am going out on a limb here, but here it goes: internet speak is not a new language. It is not clever, and it is nothing to be proud of. Wen i want peeps 2 respect wut i haf to sai i dont want to look leik i dont giv a crap ether. I mean, seriously? Why did horrendous spelling and abandonment of grammar become something to flaunt? I can understand shorthand is useful when you need to type something really quickly (i.e. brb, lol, wtf, jk, afk), but when you have all the time in the world, and you can think something all the way through, why settle for looking like you just learned English?
Going back to what I was saying before, I find that swear words are often a sign of thoughtlessness. Why say, "That pic is f***** cool" when you can say something more clever. It's a trend that goes hand in hand with the internet, but it doesn't need to. I'm not even close to being offended by the actual word you are using, but rather by the fact that you are using it. Stop. Just stop.
Now then, what dirty words can you expect to see on my blog? I think at this point in my life, the worst words and worst phrases that I will use will be:
-bastard
-what the hell
-damn
-dumbass
More commonly, I may use:
-frigging (not quite the f-bomb)
-crap
-any word deemed less offensive
I like to think of myself as a bit more witty than someone who relies too heavily on shock words. However, I must say that a well placed swear is not only clever, but appropriate. Sometimes strong feelings need strong words. That is the balance I wish to strike, and I wish that more people felt that way. Yes, I will even go so far as to say that the worst swear word, the one known as the "f-bomb," may sometimes be appropriate. My readers will never see it on my blog, but that is just my preference.
Oh yes, one last thing. If you feel the need to leave a comment, do your part and try to be thoughtful with what you say. People will judge you by the words you use, dumbass.
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