You know, words like ass, fuck, shit, ect.
It is my firm belief that there is no such thing as a bad word. Those words are just like any other word, only somebody at some point put a negative meaning behind them.
If we wanted to, we could have made love mean what ass does, joy mean what fuck does, and vice versa. But so far this doesn't seem like a debate, as I am just spouting out my opinion. So, let me see what you guys think on the subject?
I don't consider them bad words either. I do find "fuck" vulgar and if they were to mark a word as a bad word it would be that one. All of the other words have a scientific meaning behind them.
The scientific meaning behind fuck is sexual intercourse, just in case you didn't know.
I respect the power of cuss words. They allow a different type of expression than normal words. It's good that they are labeled as bad words, in my opinion, because sometimes there is a reason to use them. There are lots of people that just throw them around because they can, and that's fine, it doesn't really hurt anything. I think of them not so much as words that shouldn't be said, but as words reserved for a specific setting. I don't have a problem with younger people knowing or using them unless they don't understand what they are saying.
I agree with winkio. I often use bad words to express the intensity in my emotions of actions. "This is one fucking good steak.", "Ah.... SHIT! Not again!", "You are so fucking sexy... that I want to know all about you.", "Fuck you, man! *laughs*" and other stuff like that.
Yes, while many believe them to be okay to use in certain settings only, I do not consider them bad words, and they should be fine to use anytime, and am sort of irked that whoever made them bad did.
I think they'd work just fine as normal casual words besides their scientific meanings.
Like, if you were to say it in a place normally inappropriate, like a church:
You: Praise the fucking Lord! Amen!
Priest: You're damn right, praise the fucking lord!
Trust me, I know how dumb that looks, but I see no problem with it. I just think they could be used normally and casually, but because of some person(s) however long ago, they are now bad. Makes no sense to me.
I agree with winkio. If it became "acceptable" to use them in supposedly inappropriate situations, then they would lose their power. Although, some people really need to cool it when they give out to people for swearing.
here's how I see it.
Expletives in general are the only words in our vocabularies that can truly describe or come close to describing the intensity of our emotions is certain situations. and if these words are used in situations other than thos they begin to lose their power. the fact that they are reserved for those time when no other words will suffice is the reason they have the meaning they do. and I agree using the words is not a bad thing, it using them in an inappropriate manner that is really bad. also the whole "you should never cuss" thing is utter stupidity and the people who will chew you out for doing it don't understand the fundamental reason we have them. to express strong emotion, and trying to express that kind of emotion with out those words is just as or even worse that using them. that kind of emotion NEEDS to be expressed.
Bad? I Think not...Just powerful. Theres a song by Limp Bizkit
"Fuck's just a word, and it's all fucked up"
Well it may sound funny but all words are words and some are more meaningful or more powerful than others...Not bad just... Looked at differently or interpreted :]
And they are "strong" exactly because they are taboo.
Bad words become prohibited because people associate them that way. Like the streissand effect, people took notice of them more when they became taboo. People care about using them more when they associated them as a cuss word. Thus, since the person you're talking to also knows it (supposedly), that's the impression you give. It becomes a sort of release as well- a guilty pleasure release when you cuss when bad things happen.
Though you gave an intelligent response, I can't help it but bestow you with this:
(http://achievements.schrankmonster.de/Achievement.aspx?text=Necropost)
I just saw this video and had to post it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrd_k2G6wcY
It's a pro Starcraft 2 player talking with one of his fan's moms about cursing. It's hilarious because Destiny, the Starcraft player, is always saying curse words (mostly the word fuck) on his livestream on a daily basis, yet he actually has a really deep and solid viewpoint on this topic.
a sound mind with sound principles.