do you have a potty mouth?

[sniffa]

Poll question: do you have a potty mouth?

i inherited my cursing ways from my mom-dukes (whose favorite words are cunt, doubhebag, areshoLe, shithead, fucker, dickhead, and probabLy some more) who curses Like a saiLor... a saiLor who's reaLLy drunk. i nearLy took it up a notch.

how bout you?

[StopTheMorans]

1. fuck yeah bro!

[jellybelly]

2. what the fuck kind of poll is this, fucker?

[terrya]

3. Fuckin' A, man!

Hell, yes, I swear. They're only words, for Christ's sake. :-)

[Ron Green]

4. If you use the "f" word casually, you have given away your power of

expression. What're you gonna do when you really NEED to be emphatic? Talk louder? Cursing casually is crying "wolf," linguisticallly.

[sniffa]

9. not reaLLy

i can easiLy reach deep into that dark pLace in my mind to "reaLLy cross the Line" when need be.

just saying fuck is one thing.. but pairing fuck with a few other words truLy enLivens the insuLt.

[Ron Green]

12. Sorry, I don't buy it. When people have heard you use the strongest words

in everyday usage, you've shot your wad. You got nothin' left to put the point across except "pairing fuck with a few other words." Ho-hum.

[StopTheMorans]

14. that's horseshit you fucking pantywaist

:evilgrin:

[Ron Green]

17. LOL hee hee....actually that kind of excites me in strange way.

[StopTheMorans]

19. *runs away*

[Ron Green]

21. See, it don't take no fuckin' cursing to defend yourself.

[StopTheMorans]

22. touche n/t

[sniffa]

20. hehe

how quick can i get tombstoned? :evilgrin:

[Taxloss]

13. Sniffa, I must ask: is there something wrong with your L key?

eom

[sniffa]

16. no, not at aLL

:shrug:

[Taxloss]

25. So why are they all uppercase?

I'm only curious.

[sniffa]

26. i'm just fucking with you

:evilgrin:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=141818

[Taxloss]

28. AHHHH! Thanks. n/t

[Taxloss]

23. What you say and how you say it is more important than the words

you use.

[Ron Green]

27. "How you say it..." it IS the words you use. Words are pretty much all we

have, along with body language. Maybe part of the reason so much modern "thought" is accompanied by exaggerated gestures is that the ideas need lots of help.

[Taxloss]

32. No, the words you use are merely part of how you say it.

And not as large a part as you might think. Sentence structure, tone, emphasis, volume, and so on are far more effective signifiers of true meaning than the individual words. Think of sarcasm.

Also, exaggerated body language does not mean more effective body language. It may well be considerably less effective.

The F-word is both ancient and almost completely degraded. It's also one of the most versatile words in English.

I'm not arguing for swearing, of course, although I do indulge in it.

[Ron Green]

37. I'm not denying it's one of the most useful words. I'm just sayin' that

many people so overuse it that they have diminshed their own power, their power to communicate.

[Taxloss]

40. Words don't really operate like that.

That would be the case if I had known you for years, never used the word, and then used it, but that's only surprise value. There would be a theoretically unlimited number of things that could be said in that situation that would surprise and shock you, if that was my intention.

[Ron Green]

41. Words DO operate like that. They let someone know within minutes, if not

seconds, what kind of person you are, assuming you're being appropriately revealing of yourself in the first meeting. If you are casually saying "fuck" this and "fuckin'" that, some people will be offended, and so what? But more importantly, you show yourself as someone who doesn't have a large and flexible vocabulary, in short, a dumbass. Now I understand that modern parlance is very different from that of just a few years ago, and that the "f" word is extremely useful as a noun, adjective, adverb, you name it. But I can choose to use it or not, as the situation calls for. One who has grown up with "fuckin'" as his primary adjective is seriously limited, in my opinion.

[Taxloss]

42. The F-word does not indicate either a dumbass or a limited vocab

but it can be a clue. Only a clue. Human interaction is based on so many signals, and words are a lot more flexible than you think. If I say things like "I love marshmallows", "I love Futurama etc." a lot, does that devalue it if I say "I love you" to my fiancee? I don't think so.

[sniffa]

45. i figured that's what he was getting at

it's a shame those posts disappeared. :(

[Ron Green]

51. 'Course not. I'm not talking about the various meanings of "love." I'm

talking (or writing) about using words like "shit," "fuck," "motherfucker," "cunt," "cocksucker," and even less powerful ones such as "bitch" and "whore." I'm sure you'll agree that these are the strongest words in English, and that's why their use has been so restricted. But as the popular culture has opened up, the words have become weakened by their wide use.

Kids who grow up using these words in place of the wide array of other descriptive words in English are weak, linguistically speaking. That's all I'm saying. And when people use these powerful words in a weak way, they limit their social power as well.

[Taxloss]

59. That's true. But that stems mostly from context, not the word.

As usage changes, so do relative values. "Devaluation" in this context simply means "increased acceptance", which means the word is less strong. Words are meaningless in theirselves; all they are is a kind of promissory note, like a coin (as in "coinage of new words") that only holds value because the other half of the deal believes it to hold value. Over-usage, you imply, is like inflation in currency, in the sense that it decreases the value, but it doesn't because the concept of value in terms of words is far more complex, as in my "love" example. There are some similar swearwords that are extraordinarily complex in terms of their context-usage-effect spectrum. For instance, n*gg*r, the acceptability of which is plummeting - but only in some communities.

For the young, however, as you said in your post, it is a bit sad. But when have teens ever been verbose, articulate and communicative? I don't think there would be a very strong correlation between education, vocab and f-usage if it was plotted. But there might be a weak one. However, as the f-word loses its power to shock, why would kids use it to do that?

[Ron Green]

61. "...as the f-word loses its power to schock, why would kids use it

to do that?" This is my point, and maybe the scariest part of all of this: As kids become desensitized to the strongest words we have available to us, what is their next step in the continuum of expression?

You guessed it; it's ACTION. Whereas a kid from my generation might have trotted out "fuck" and some of the other big bombs (and prabably gotten introuble for doing it), today's kid has nothing left but to act, most likely in violence, since anger is where the strong words usually reside.

Once again, I pose my question: When a kid who uses "fuckin'" as his main adjective starts to get angry and needs to express that anger, what does he do to signal it? Talk louder?

Just as FOX has moved the right wing to the center, so has lazy speech moved the strong to the ordinary. The Buddha would advise to seek the middle way, and restore the balance.

[Taxloss]

64. No, they will simply use another word.

And your point is a little self-contradictory; although a person who considers the f-word strong would only use it in contexts where it was close to what he meant, someone who is desensitised might use it commonly to mean "very" or whatever, and consequently isn't expressing anger at all.

Kids use strong words for generational reasons: they shock older people. Kids desire attention. Then they just get used to it. It will fall out of fashion. The taboo that surrounds it is an ageing social construct. As well as losing power, F is losing its meaning.

"When a kid who uses "fuckin'" as his main adjective starts to get angry and needs to express that anger, what does he do to signal it? Talk louder?"

Yes, probably. Or change his body language. This form of social interaction is so complicated it's impossible to say outside a specific scenario.

[Ron Green]

66. What you're pointing to, of course, is a post-literate world.

Or at least a post-literate country. And that's OK, because something like literacy has to run its course, just as Democracy does, or Empire. If a kid is reduced to saying "fuck" louder, or with some accompanying body language, because he didn't learn all the other words that lead up to "fuck," he's a reduced communicator and therefore a reduced person.

There has been NO OTHER word to replace "fuck." (Can you tell me what word WILL replace it?) It's the big one, the most powerful word in English. And for a kid to give it away, as so many of them do, is just sad. While the kid is shocking older people, he's losing some valuable time exploring the 600,000 other words he could be learning to use.

[Taxloss]

68. A "post-literate world"? I'm sorry, that's absurd.

This has nothing to do with literacy. If that kid is angry and does not have the words to express it, it isn't the word's fault, it's a problem in his economic, educational, familial, social or cultural environment.

I seriously recommend reading some Peter Burke, especially "Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe". Literacy is a perennial and utterly malleable form, and every age considers it threatened. And it never is.

[Ron Green]

69. Sure literacy will end. Just as there was a time before it, there will be

a time after it. You can see the signs (literally) everywhere: Instruction manuals, street signs, computer operating systems - they're becoming picture-based, rather than word- and syntax-based. Literacy is a tool of empowerment fot democracy, and the current overlords are more than happy to see it die out, just as I'm sure they're happy to see a generation of potty-mouthed kids who will work for a slave wage.

My point throughout all this is simply that a kid wtih a rich vocabulary can curse or speak civil language...it's his choice. The kid without a vocabulary can only curse or shut up. And having learned and taught speaking and communication over several generations, I know that many people today, especially young ones, are seriously challenged in their efforts to communicate, because of their "potty mouth" habit.

[Taxloss]

70. Literacy cannot and will not end.

Signs are read as much as words are; they correspond with a shared visual language. Simultaneously, the written word is more prevalent than it ever has been, and continues to increase exponentially.

EDIT: I really, really recommend Burke. I think you'd love it.

[Ron Green]

71. I'll check out Burke, and recommend Neil Postman to you also -

Signs are read, but not as words are. Pre-literate people had signs, but they did not have written context; and with the advent of the telegraph and the photograph, context began to die as well. Today's "news cycle" is the perfect flowering of this process, in which any sort of image or story is put out for consumption, without any neccessary connection to the meaning of the whole of life.

I don't suggest that pre-literate people didn't have ANY context, of course. They had the richness of their art and later of epic poetry. I have doubts that this sort of context, something giving a meaning to life, will replace the written word as a democratizing force. And when I hear not only children but young adults, and even older folks, so casually throwing away their most powerful vessels of fear, anger and excitement, I'm pretty much resigned to the trend.

I think "Amusing Ourselves to Death" is the book of Postman's in which he discusses the death of context.

[flygal]

Yes and my 3 year old is picking it up

gotta watch that

[asthmaticeog]

5. I have a potty mouth

if you have good enough aim, sailor.

[redqueen]

63. I like your response very much.

I think I will use it. Is that okay with you?

[asthmaticeog]

65. Fine with me, redqueen.

I was wondering if anyone even got it!

[redqueen]

67. Thanks!

Wasn't lost on me, at least. :evilgrin:

[Bertha Venation]

6. My vote extended the red bar.

A movie line sums up my history of swearing:

"When I first met you, you were like, 'Oh, phooey, I burned the darn muffins.' Now you walk into a bar, ten minutes later sailors come runnin' out. What up with that?!"

(name that film)

[ronnykmarshall]

50. I love that line!

I can't remember what fucking movie that son of a bitch was from. SHEEEETTT!

[Bertha Venation]

57. The Long Kiss Goodnight

One of the few films I've actually enjoyed that contained massive gratuitous, senseless violence. There's just something about that Geena Davis.... rowr.

[Q3JR4]

7. I do, but only when the particular situation warrents it. n/t.

[RubyDuby in GA]

8. As I've said before

I could make a drunken sailor who's just spent his last ten dollars on a disease infested crack whore blush.

I am such a fucking lady. :)

[maveric]

10. Growing up Boston. blue collar, Irish/Sicilian...You aint fucken shittin!

My grandparents were extremely salty although my parents tried to tone it down a bit.

[shinju1985]

11. only on occcassion

mostly at the annoying person obeying the speed limit, and I never manage to stay in one language.

[bbernardini]

15. I voted for "every 2 minutes", but it depends on the situation...

As a teacher, that sort of language is generally frowned upon in the classroom. Same with family gatherings. Otherwise, look out!

[the Princess]

18. Fuck yeah

I'm a Jersey girl - *FUCK* is an adjective. LOL

[Ron Green]

24. A little story:

For years I taught in a maximum-security prison, in very close circumstances in the housing units. The language, as you can imagine, was coarse all the time. What I tried to show the guys was not that there was some moral reason to clean up their speech, but just the practical one that I mentioned above: People listen when you use your strong words rarely and carefully. I would slip the "f" word into some context or other about once every six weeks, and it got instant attention and results, unlike the effect of some staff members who cursed just like the inmates.

[noonwitch]

58. The Coleman Young technique

He would slip in a foul word here and there to shock the white people. Somewhere, there is a book of some of his best quotes out there.

My favorite: When addressing the Detroit media at a conference in Hawaii via closed caption tv, he greeted them with "Hello, motherfuckers".

2nd favorite: He visited Japan and his translator explained to him that they have words in their language that change meaning when pronounced certain ways. His response "We have a word like that in english-motherfucker".

The late, great Coleman Young. He may have been a crook, but he was our crook.

[Ron Green]

60. LOL - I like your example. Young knew what were the expectations and

prejudices of the white establishment, and how to tweak them and expand their thinking.

[arcane1]

29. fuck yeah!!!!

especially after reading some of today's news :grr:

[Solly Mack]

30. I prefer bidet mouth. Fucking-A I got one

[redqueen]

31. Yes and I really want to stop.

I did great right after the kids were born, but then in 2002 around the midterms I got really tense and started cursing again.

[HEAVYHEART]

33. Resolution

One of my new year's resolutions is to stop saying fuck.

[jellybelly]

34. typing 'fuck' isn't the same as saying FUCK!

:thumbsup:

[HEAVYHEART]

35. Fuck! You're right!

:bounce:

[Jackpine Radical]

36. What the #@$%^ *&^% kind of %$@*& question is that?

[sniffa]

38. standard douchey question

so fiLL out the fucking poLL!!

[SmileyBoy]

39. Hell fucking yes, you motherfucker.

:)

[truthbetold]

43. This is completely off topic...

But sniffa, is that your picture as your avatar?
Cuz youse one good lookin' fella, haha.

[sniffa]

48. that's me

:hi:

[ronnykmarshall]

52. Cute mother fucker ain't he?

[truthbetold]

53. Indeed!

[sniffa]

55. see? that's hot!

gave me chiLLs. :loveya:

[eoberhauser]

44. oh fuck

Erin = Drunken Sailor

[ronnykmarshall]

46. You gotta be fucking me with this?

Me? SHIT! You're one crazy-ass mother fucker to think that I don't cuss my god-damn ass off.

Hell, if I couldn't cuss my god-damn head would fucking explode.

[sniffa]

47. it's sexy when you do it

:evilgrin:

[ronnykmarshall]

54. At the risk of getting this locked

.... let's just say I'm very "vocal" during .... ya know.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

49. Shit, you asshole think I have a potty fucking mouth? Cocksucking bitch.

[DinahMoeHum]

56. Thanks for the poll - you Pathetic, Cringing Little Milksop !!!

from the sketch "Dial-a-Curse"
(National Lampoon album "That's Not Funny, That's Sick!")



:evilgrin:

[name not needed]

62. Goddamn fuckin right I am

Fuckin a

[NightTrain]

72. Shit, piss, fuck, cunt. cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits!

Those are the dirty seven. Those are the ones that'll curve your spine, infect your soul, and keep the country from winning the war!

[Darranar]

73. Very rarely, and never loudly. n/t

[RevolutionaryActs]

74. I swear like a drunken sailor.

:D

Ahh your mom has good swears. I myself like, 'fuck a duck' and 'for fuck sake.'

lol

[sniffa]

77. hah

i had an acquaintance in coLLege whose most overused phrase was, "fuck a duck".

is your name mary beth? :P

[njdemocrat106]

75. I do so more on the Internets than in real life

You all better clean up your language, or I'm going to have to shove some Irish Spring down all your throats, you sons of bitches!
:evilgrin:

[jdonaldball]

76. No, but sometimes I talk out of my ass