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Jul 22, 2005, 2:33pm

I've seen a lot of bickering and strife over this here in the NGs, so I want
to interject for a moment with some food for thought:

What makes a word bad? How can someone be offended by a sound that comes
from someone elses mouth? A sound that is synonymous with other words that
are "acceptable" in our culture. It is an odd thing, if you say something
like "shit" someone could shrug it off, or go off on you. If you say
something like "poop," most people will shrug it off with the exception of
smaller children, who would probably giggle.

But back to my point, whats the big deal? If simple words like that (which
have many synonyms) can offend you, why not a word like desk? Cheese?

In this day and age on the internet, I really don't understand how anyone
wouldn't tolerate "innapropriate language." We've all heard it before
(ESPECIALLY online), and its not always inappropriate, such as being used
for emphasis, in context, and the like.

Whats the big deal?

Jul 22, 2005, 3:59pm

Hi :)



Have you ever heard the old George Carlen joke that goes something like
this?



Have you ever notice how, your stuff is shit and my shit is stuff?



I thought that was an amusing one liner; and still do. But there are members
of my family who thought it was vulgar and inappropriate, and jumped down my
thought because I laughed at it. Just thought I would share that with you.
:)



I believe the question was; what makes a word bad? Well, nothing in it's
self. A word is neither good nor bad; it's how you choose to use a word that
counts. For instance, I thought, considering the type of jokes that comedian
tells; the use of the word shit was appropriate.



However; if some one in or out of the net is choosing to type or say words
such as shit, f-k, etc. one right after the other, and there is absolutely
no reason for the words to be used, then it becomes offensive. When people
choose to type or say such words so much that it makes up a majority of the
conversation it tells me that that person is limited in his or her
vocabulary and mental capability.



I am not offended by the occasional cuss word in a conversation, but I would
prefer not to try to have conversations with people who are so limited that
they choose to cuss their way through conversations; to me, having to put up
with that kind of immaturity and ignorance is offensive, and, in my opinion,
it's best they choose not to have a conversation at all.



Some people use those words to attack other people, knowing they are
offensive, and some use them for the shock value, knowing they are
offensive; this is also inappropriate, except in a joke where every one is
in on the joke, such as the joke I mentioned above.



So, what makes a word bad? Only the person using the word.



Imagine

Jul 22, 2005, 4:16pm

[View Quote] <snip good explanations>

>
> So, what makes a word bad? Only the person using the word.
>
>
>
> Imagine
>
>

Hi All,

There are some of us who have a different language so those words are not offensive to us. Interestingly enough I never saw any hungarian using any bad words in AW (and trust me - if we start to swear - we can go on for 35 minutes without repeating a single word we used before!).
We learned something in our culture: Not the word counts but the intention the person who uses it. It can be a simple emotional expression or can be a really bad cussing - it depends on the circumstances.

Thank you for your excellent post!

--
Andras
"It's MY computer" (tm Steve Gibson)

Jul 22, 2005, 7:38pm

Something personally offensive to a person, or something used out of
context.

--
- Mark Randall
http://zetech.swehli.com

[View Quote]

Jul 22, 2005, 9:53pm

[View Quote] "So, what makes a word bad? Only the person using the word."
Also, perhaps, the person interpreting, or deliberately misinterpreting, the
word.

I recall once using the word "peanut" in a absolutely innocent context.
Someone contrived offence to that particular word and threatened to tell the
authorities. Shocked that anyone could possibly interpret such an innocent
word as something vulgar, I began to understand that those who object to
language sometimes have an ulterior motive. Contriving offences can be a
means of enlisting authorities in an arbitrary, mean-spirited assault.
Thankfully, that strategy is transparent to mature adults.

With all due respect to parents trying to ease their children into this
modern and unfortunately vulgar world, please understand that there are
those who pretend to side with you, not because they care about your
children, but because they're desperate to find fault with others.

You'd rarely find me using bad words, even in X-rated environments among
adults, simply because they carry little meaning. They carry the most
meaning within the minds of those who wish to contrive offence.

With Respect,
Jim1

Jul 23, 2005, 1:20am

That's also true :)

Imagine

Jul 23, 2005, 1:21am

Jul 23, 2005, 1:29am

Sorry about the empty post. I clicked twice on accident. :)

Just wanted to add, there are people out there who will show disgust at, not
only vulgar words, but innocent words as well, words such as peanut. I don't
know what context you used it in, but apparently that person had their own
reasons for thinking it was vulgar; the reasons you described. The people I
am talking about are the ones who have dirty minds and hide it, claiming to
be pure minded them selves. These people will hear a word used in an
innocent way and in their minds turn it into something dirty. Only because
they have the dirty minds. Not because they misunderstood.

It's over 90 degrees right now and I hope I said that right lol Please
excuse me if I didn't.

Imagine

Jul 23, 2005, 1:32pm

I was in Salt Lake City for a portion of this week. It was, on average,
about 105 every day, sometimes a bit higher. Brush on the hills was
literally randomly exploding into flames on some days, homeless people were
falling over in the middle of the street. Crazy stuff.

However now that I've returned home, I will proceed to do the "I live in the
land without seasons" dance. What that looks like, you can decide for
yourselves. There may be peanuts involved. O_O

[View Quote]

Jul 25, 2005, 4:11am

[View Quote] > I've seen a lot of bickering and strife over this here in the NGs, so I want
> to interject for a moment with some food for thought:
>
> What makes a word bad? How can someone be offended by a sound that comes
> from someone elses mouth? A sound that is synonymous with other words that
> are "acceptable" in our culture. It is an odd thing, if you say something
> like "shit" someone could shrug it off, or go off on you. If you say
> something like "poop," most people will shrug it off with the exception of
> smaller children, who would probably giggle.
>
> But back to my point, whats the big deal? If simple words like that (which
> have many synonyms) can offend you, why not a word like desk? Cheese?
>
> In this day and age on the internet, I really don't understand how anyone
> wouldn't tolerate "innapropriate language." We've all heard it before
> (ESPECIALLY online), and its not always inappropriate, such as being used
> for emphasis, in context, and the like.
>
> Whats the big deal?
>
>
i love desk.
LOUD NOISES!

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