41–50 of 57 posts
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Did she, pray tell for this discourse ever tell you why saying such words offended people, or were you raised like I was? Namely: This this this and this are wrong. Why? Because I said they're wrong.
It's pretty hard to come up with any better rationalization than "because I said so" for why "fornicate" is alright to say and "fuck" isn't. I've yet to hear one.
I think if you're going to swear, you should do it in British. The King's English offers a greater spectrum of colorful expressions.
Small point. There is a prisoner's dilemma here. As profanity is used more and more often, it becomes less jarring (consider bloody, bloomin, etc.. as examples of prior swear words). Thus, they their very use, these words become less useful. However, any individual author has no incentive to stop using these words. Eventually, we will probably have new curse words for english.
Interesting point, but I think the tragedy of the commons is a more fitting analogy than the prisoner's dilemma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
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Exceptional circumstances do not invalidate codes of conduct. Two big problems with that statement: 1) Exceptional circumstances are by definition exceptional, and hence validate or invalidate whatever behaviour is appropriate. I never want to drink piss. You might say it's a clear, permanent principle in my life. But if I'm dying of thirst in the desert, I may well do. That's an exceptional circumstance. 2) A "code…
I see your number one as reiterating what I was saying, not disagreeing. A personal code of conduct is not "a load of crap." It has a limited but useful role in framing and shaping behavior. Like any system of guidance, it exists to provide the default and usual path. Each programming language culture has its own code of conduct, encouraging some behavior and discouraging other behavior, that stems from the culture's…
Exceptional circumstances do not invalidate codes of conduct.
This statement clearly defines a "code of conduct" as a rigid set of rules that should always apply. Now you say:
[a code of conduct] has a limited but useful role in framing and shaping behavior.
That contradicts the previous statement. I'm glad you changed your mind, but why not admit you did?
Within the context of word choice, being more precise, informative and salient is better than talking about excrement, fornication or damnation.
I don't disagree with that. I don't swear for no reason - at least not in writing. I merely disagreed with your apparent sense of superiority. Since you've relinquished that too, I guess we're in agreement.
PS: Btw, it's "Principle". "Principal" is an official rank. Principle is a guideline.
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I'd second you on that. While working as a reviewer I found that swearing when talking to my boss made him understand my point better. Similarly I've found that when talking to people, sometimes dropping a 'fuck' in as punctuation scores gold. I worked as an electrician, and when I add the 'F' in there, people recognise it isn't my opinion I'm expressing when it comes to doing something, it's a simple fact. Again, so…
"... if the wireless operator on the Titanic had put a fuck in there..." How would that work? C-Fucking-Q-Fucking-D, Assholes! Profanity is just words, but like all words, they have a tendency to piss people off. So I use "heck", "durn", "shucky-bob" and any other ridiculously non-profane words I can come up with. Then when I add a "hell', "damn", "fuck' or the like, it stands out. When I was in my twenties and in th…
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Do you disagree because of a prejudice, or do you have well thought out reasons? If you have reasons, could you post them?
Reason #1: Cursing is not the best choice of words. Cursing usually involves using words for bodily functions or religious notions. Neither category is germane to most situations that people curse in, and in those situations there are more informative options that don't demonize their subjects. I don't need to allude to disgusting, private or holy topics in order to express displeasure, shock or degrees of extremenes…
When referring to the original meanings, I think it is very vulgar to use those words, for instance saying "Take a s---" or "f------ your girlfriend". Those make me cringe. But those same words still work for me as exclamation, as in "S---! I lost my wallet!" or "His house is so f------ huge!".
I think that swear words are useful in this context because the social norms against using them keep them relatively scarce, which gives them value. When marketers have overhyped everything ("Extreme Toothpaste! The Ultimate Chili Dog! The Greatest Athlete Ever!"), the scarcely used swear words are valuable for conveying meaning because everything else is cheapened. If you could buy "Whitest F------ Teeth" toothpaste, swear words would not convey any additional meaning and would probably be used less.
>Of all the presentations I’ve given, I’ve generally had the most positive feedback from the ones that carried enough passion to warrant profanity and it’s been very effective in making people remember key ideas (“they sell fucking shoes”). I can't imagine how "fucking shoes" would be useful.
The social danger of dysphemism, of course, is that some people will react not with disgust toward the target (the exam) but rather toward the person using such language. This leads to an inherent riskiness and edginess to so-called "profanity". However, a lot of people like risky behaviors, so this results in a proliferation of ironic or even positive uses, e.g. "my car is the shit" or "life is so fucking beautiful", that are often used to build camaraderie.
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Reason #1: Cursing is not the best choice of words. Cursing usually involves using words for bodily functions or religious notions. Neither category is germane to most situations that people curse in, and in those situations there are more informative options that don't demonize their subjects. I don't need to allude to disgusting, private or holy topics in order to express displeasure, shock or degrees of extremenes…
Sometimes it is the best choice of words. Most people who swear are not using the traditional bodily or religious connotations of the words, they are using them for emphasis or exclamation. Those uses are so much more common than the original meanings that outside of specific contexts, the new emphatic meanings are the default. When referring to the original meanings, I think it is very vulgar to use those words, for…
This reminds me of a beautiful movie, Idiocracy, and the "Carl's Jr. Extra Big-ass Fries". The motto of Carl's Jr. in this hilarious 26th-century dystopia is "Fuck you, I'm eating".