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I agree; bad words are bad because they have a negative feeling or concept associated with them (fear, disgust, racism etc..). They work on an emotional level,
by mistaken 10y ago
I agree; bad words are bad because they have a negative feeling or concept associated with them (fear, disgust, racism etc..). They work on an emotional level, so you must make a conscious decision not to become offended even if the intent behind the words weren't hostile towards you.
- wastedhours 10y agoExactly. If I called a mate a "daft c!!t" (censored mainly because people still put that word, strangely, on a pedestal - if you do, I'd suggest not going to a bar in London on a Friday night...), it has a totally different concept to it than if I called a stranger who said something silly a "daft c!!t". Fundamentally it boils down to an empathy with context - everyone has a right to be offended by anything, but realistically the only time that has any impact societally is if someone is directly trying to offend you (which is rarely the case).
- ck425 10y agoBut the person speaking doesn't necessarily know what feelings or associations you give a word, so they can't be blamed for your reaction to them.