> I find it bizarre that there are certain sounds that ... will cause offense. I concur that people shouldn't be so sensitive, but I think your approach above

> I find it bizarre that there are certain sounds that ... will cause offense. I concur that people shouldn't be so sensitive, but I think your approach above is actually the "bizarre" way of looking at it. Ideas, words, sounds, images have meaning. You can tear people down with words, or lift them up. You can tell lies or truth. If I say "fuck you, you piece of shit" to a colleague, or to my wife, that has meaning ("I'm very angry and I hate you"). Swear words are strong for a reason, and if folks use them all the time they become weak and meaningless. I basically don't swear, ever, but if I did, it would be in situations like this: http://www.paulgraham.com/resay.html http://www.paulgraham.com/resay.html (see "The reason I forbid my children to use words like...") See also the section "innocence" at http://paulgraham.com/lies.html http://paulgraham.com/lies.html for some counterpoint to your comments about children and swearing. What you say about how you swear all the time but would never do it around your kids seems pretty arbitrary. What you suggest doesn't seem common sense to me.