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If nobody speaks up for being civil, there's no incentive to be civil. Certainly we need folk speaking up for civility so we can keep using our expletives with

If nobody speaks up for being civil, there's no incentive to be civil. Certainly we need folk speaking up for civility so we can keep using our expletives with appropriate conviction. After all, the whole f'ing reason for cursing is to offend. If you're not offended, I have to try harder to convey my indignity, you naughtyhead.

ksdale 7y ago
I think there may be two schools of thought here, though. Some people interpret the very act of cursing as incivility, regardless of the purpose, and some people only view it as uncivil if it is meant to be uncivil. Personally, I don’t agree that the only reason to curse is to offend. In my mind, curse words have a very specific meaning and sometimes they are by far the most appropriate word for a situation. I would liken it to using words that describe parts of the human anatomy. There are some people who would never say the word penis in polite company, but sometimes it’s just the only word for the job. Also, I’m not suggesting that my interpretation is the only reasonable one, just that I think there are widely varying positions.
- Fr0styMatt88 7y ago
  I'm Australian and I think a large portion of us use swear words almost like punctuation. Of course it depends on the social context. I'm not going to be swearing much at all at work and still feel a little startled (not offended, just surprised and maybe vaguely uncomfortable) when my manager drops an F-bomb or two. Yet around friends and family, F-bombs (and C-bombs [1] around close friends!) are almost used like exclamation points, purely to draw emphasis and attention to a statement. I can only conclude it's one of those cultural things. So while I respect that some people find swearing deeply offensive and particularly only useful to offend, that's a really alien concept to me. [1] F-bomb and C-bomb are slang terms referring to f..k and c..t respectively.

ksdale 7y ago

I think there may be two schools of thought here, though. Some people interpret the very act of cursing as incivility, regardless of the purpose, and some people only view it as uncivil if it is meant to be uncivil. Personally, I don’t agree that the only reason to curse is to offend. In my mind, curse words have a very specific meaning and sometimes they are by far the most appropriate word for a situation. I would liken it to using words that describe parts of the human anatomy. There are some people who would never say the word penis in polite company, but sometimes it’s just the only word for the job. Also, I’m not suggesting that my interpretation is the only reasonable one, just that I think there are widely varying positions.

Fr0styMatt88 7y ago
I'm Australian and I think a large portion of us use swear words almost like punctuation. Of course it depends on the social context. I'm not going to be swearing much at all at work and still feel a little startled (not offended, just surprised and maybe vaguely uncomfortable) when my manager drops an F-bomb or two. Yet around friends and family, F-bombs (and C-bombs [1] around close friends!) are almost used like exclamation points, purely to draw emphasis and attention to a statement. I can only conclude it's one of those cultural things. So while I respect that some people find swearing deeply offensive and particularly only useful to offend, that's a really alien concept to me. [1] F-bomb and C-bomb are slang terms referring to f..k and c..t respectively.