Rampant profanity

[gaara4158]

No, it's really more indicative of class, not passion.

Well again, class means much less to me than moral uprightness, and part of class is simply limiting expressions of passion to a specific set of circumstances anyway. Plenty of men in suits and monocles have eloquently and dispassionately called for atrocities to be committed.

 

[Hazelelponi]

The usage of profanity is directly related to level of education... I don't always like it, some people really can't speak without using profanity, but on the other hand I don't suppose it bothers me terribly anyway. I don't disregard those who employ its use out of hand.

 

[Hans Blaster]

The usage of profanity is directly related to level of education... I don't always like it, some people really can't speak without using profanity, but on the other hand I don't suppose it bothers me terribly anyway. I don't disregard those who employ its use out of hand simply on that basis alone.

Agree anecdotally. The more educated I got, the more colorful my language got.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Agree anecdotally. The more educated I got, the more colorful my language got.

At the very least the more educated one gets the easier it becomes to use more syllables to express the exact same thing.. lol

 

[Caliban]

The usage of profanity is directly related to level of education... I don't always like it, some people really can't speak without using profanity, but on the other hand I don't suppose it bothers me terribly anyway...

That's absurd--there are several post on this thread which have already debunked this old notion. Imagine telling that to Shakespeare or Marlowe--I wonder what imprecations they would dream up.

 

[Hazelelponi]

That's absurd--there are several post on this thread which have already debunked this old notion. Imagine telling that to Shakespeare or Marlowe--I wonder what imprecations they would dream up.

It's not really a notion. Go to the ghetto for a while then go to a wealthier neighborhood... there is far more profanity in use the less education someone has.

 

[Caliban]

It's not really a notion. Go to the ghetto for a while then go to a wealthier neighborhood... there is far more profanity in use the less education someone has.

That I agree with, in part--but this is also misleading. I was in the Navy for years; most of the officers I knew were highly educated--many attended Annapolis. When someone cusses a lot what do they say...cuss like a sailor. The idea that educational level correlates with profanity is silly.
Some of the most well educated people will shrivel the ears of the poor. In fact, many undereducated avoid profanity to appear more eloquent and educated. The truly educated have no need of pretense--they are free to set sail with their language.
Isn't it strange to have a whole thread about profanity and actually have none on display? What a missed opportunity.

 

[durangodawood]

At the very least the more educated one gets the easier it becomes to use more syllables to express the exact same thing.. lol

That's not actually a good thing. Curiously tho, I'm about the least educated of all my friends, with their fancy elitist advanced degrees and other hifalutin paperworks.

 

[Caliban]

At the very least the more educated one gets the easier it becomes to use more syllables to express the exact same thing.. lol

Lord Byron used to make fun of William Wordsworth by calling him Wordy Wordsworth. The trend toward effective writing styles has trended toward creativity, simplicity, and clarity for more than a hundred years. Hemingway is the capstone of concise and effective prose. Eliminating unnecessary syllables is best. And...Hemingway had quite a mouth on him.

 

[gaara4158]

The usage of profanity is directly related to level of education... I don't always like it, some people really can't speak without using profanity, but on the other hand I don't suppose it bothers me terribly anyway. I don't disregard those who employ its use out of hand.

Unless they’ve spent years studying philosophy and communications, all anyone can really do is gesture at ideas and trust in their interlocutors to bridge the gap between what was said and what was meant. Most of what’s communicated comes from nonverbal cues, such as tone, context, or body language, so you’re right not to dismiss people based on something as petty as word choice.

A great example of someone prodigiously articulate yet often foul-mouthed is Russel Brand. His uniquely precise way of speaking is equally effective and entertaining. I don’t think it would work as well without profanity.

Racial slurs, though, that’s another story. I do judge harshly for those.

 

[plain jayne]

I used to "cuss" like a sailor. In my 30's and 40's. Only around a few people. Not around children, my family. Pretty much just a very small handful of colleagues. About 2 -3.

Why? I thought it was funny. I thought it relieved tension. That small handful of colleagues always laughed. I thought, "It's just those few ladies.....and they laugh. What's the harm." And here I was a devout Christian.

Then one day, we got a couple of new colleagues and our wing was blamed for something we did not do. We were thoroughly and verbally trounced without so much an opportunity to defend ourselves.

On the way back to our wing - I let out a string of profanity. The worst of the worst. I was so mad. I heard my colleagues laughing again only this time I was thinking "This is NOT funny!"

I turned around to tell them that and the look on the two new colleagues faces' stopped me in my tracks. Their look was shock and disbelief.

And for the first time, I got a GOOD look at my long term colleagues laughing. It was not a "oh, that's funny laugh". It was a nervous laugh.

I spent a long time - a few months - looking at what the Bible says about speech. I was appalled at myself and ask God to forgive me. He did.

I told those ladies that I was sorry and that they would never hear that from me again. And they haven't.

[1] Ephesians 4:29 = "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
[2] Ephesians 5:4 = "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving."
[3] Colossians 3:8 = "But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."

 

[Rajni]

This topic reminds me of Bill Cosby. His comedic routines were always free from any foul language. Yet his character (if the reporting is true) tells another story.

The use of "bad" words may or may not be indicative of one's morals or class.


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[ToddNotTodd]

Please substantiate your opinion. It's not false, actually, though you may disagree with it.

The smartest people swear and the least educated don’t. It’s as simple as that...

 

[ToddNotTodd]

It's not really a notion. Go to the ghetto for a while then go to a wealthier neighborhood... there is far more profanity in use the less education someone has.

Demonstrably false.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

The smartest people swear and the least educated don’t. It’s as simple as that...

Not in my world, where the highly educated don't swear at all. They possess significant proficiency in vocabulary.

Multiple degrees here.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

Well again, class means much less to me than moral uprightness, and part of class is simply limiting expressions of passion to a specific set of circumstances anyway. Plenty of men in suits and monocles have eloquently and dispassionately called for atrocities to be committed.

And plenty of men in working clothes have supported the most morally upright concepts. But in general, lack of proficiency in vocabulary is correlated with the decline in opportunities that comes with poverty.

All things can be overcome by effort. Look at what Dr. Ben Carson's mom, an illiterate woman raising children on her own in a poor area, was able to do, by shutting off the TV and demanding two book reports a week from her little boys.

 

[ToddNotTodd]

Not in my world, where the highly educated don't swear at all. They possess significant proficiency in vocabulary.

That doesn’t change the fact that since in “my world” the opposite is true, your blanket statement that using swear words is a sign of low education is demonstrably false.

Multiple degrees here.

Ditto. What’s your point?

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

No it would not. The pastor's response should empathy and connection. "I'm sorry" is distant. I was there. It was effective.

ETA: It also showed that the pastor would brook no complaints about language when dealing with a hurting person.

So he chose to virtue signal instead of choosing empathy and connection.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

That doesn’t change the fact that since in “my world” the opposite is true, your blanket statement that using swear words is a sign of low education is demonstrably false.


Ditto. What’s your point?

That was your wording about the "low education", not mine.

I merely said in MY world, where many highly educated reside, they do not swear at all. They manage to express themselves without it.

 

[ToddNotTodd]

That was your wording about the "low education", not mine.

I merely said in MY world, where many highly educated reside, they do not swear at all. They manage to express themselves without it.

Fine, as long as you realize that people with robust vocabularies swear. They just may not be part of “your world”.