Using the word has been taboo for a very long time, but mentioning it has not been. Plenty of respectable people have mentioned the word and kept their careers.

Using the word has been taboo for a very long time, but mentioning it has not been. Plenty of respectable people have mentioned the word and kept their careers. Here's a talk that linguist Steven Pinker gave at Google in 2007 where he mentions the word.[1] Later in the Q&A he says, "I don't swear. I talk about swearing. Any of you who have taken philosophy will recognize the use versus mention distinction."[2] It's utterly bizarre that so many people today refuse to recognize this distinction. I think this video has only stayed up because nobody has brought it to the attention of the public. Pinker would never be able to give that talk today, and Google would never have uploaded it to YouTube. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBpetDxIEMU&t=30m05s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBpetDxIEMU&t=30m05s 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBpetDxIEMU&t=1h02m45s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBpetDxIEMU&t=1h02m45s