Rou

Somewhere back in the mists of time, our language developed certain rules and guidelines for acceptability. These rules have slowly adapted as the common mores change.

But I don’t think they’ve every really made sense. Not logically at least.

Think about the curse words we have out there. Some of them are understandable and incontrovertible. ‘Motherfucker’. That’s a bold word with a very graphic and derogatory meaning to it. I get that. Of course, technically, it really just means a Daddy. Or the milkman.

On the other hand you’ve got things like ‘Fuck’. There is graphic imagery there. No lie. But that same imagery is associated with lots of other phrases that we have no problem with. Sex. Hump. Mount. Screw. Bang. Tango. Laid. Fornicate. Sleep with. Even using them in their most base and filthy forms, those words are not frowned upon nearly as much as ‘fuck’. For some reason, fuck is the most pejorative form of expressing the act. It’s the one that we wash out of little Johnny’s mouth when he uses it.

Another example. Nigger. Now, I hate this word. Nigger, nigga… don’t care. Can’t stand it. But, and this is the point here, saying the ‘N-word’, or the ‘N-bomb’ doesn’t somehow remove the connotation. Typing out N***** doesn’t somehow absolve the writer. If you want to say it, I think you should say it. Pussyfooting around it is just politically correct tap dancing. If you’re unwilling to accept the damnation for saying Nigger, you shouldn’t try to hide behind a wink and a nudge. Same goes for all the other racial epitaphs out there. I’m not even touching the fact that some people are “allowed” to use it but others become an instant pariah.

And then we have Shit. Another word we never teach little Johnny. But crap is fine. We teach him poo-poo and ‘number 2’ about the same time as we teach him to walk. But Shit? No. Never that. What did Shit do to earn its place on the naughty words list? It’s the same image. Same meaning. Same everything. But for some reason, this way, it’s a bad word.

There are a lot of silly curses that we’ve picked up over the years. Things that you’re supposed to say instead of the “bad word”. Darn it. Shucks. Tarnation. I don’t get them either. Same basic swearing form, but sidestepping the societal scorn. Like swearing for dummies or something.

I’m sure this list could be easily expanded to include most curse words. It drives me up a wall that we have a double standard built into our language. I vote we say what we mean and we don’t care what other people think of those words. If you want to say Fuck, say it if that’s what makes you feel good. If it doesn’t, there are plenty of ‘acceptable’ alternatives to all those words. Speak your mind, not what society thinks you should say.

Your words.
Your choice.