let's discuss language censorship!

[nerve]

after posting a status on facebook containing more than a few (lighthearted) "f" bombs, one of my aunts politely asked me to stop using the word because she'd "rather not see it." I normally don't curse like a sailor, anyway...I was quite drunk. but that's beside the point. this was my reply to her: language censorship is a ridiculous, self-defeating cause and that is something I feel very strongly about. I respectfully refuse to compromise my beliefs to accommodate you. of course, I use discretion; but seeing as this is a public forum and you have the option to either de-friend me or take me off of your news feed (the latter, I hope), I see no reason to censor myself. it was not my intention to hurt anyone with my language, and it saddens me that anyone would construe such negativity in a mere word. anyway, I mean no disrespect, really. :) thoughts?

[Xyn]

Well said.. I really wish I didn't add family on facebook for reasons like this.

[nerve]

two options for you: if you are a legal adult/your free language would not result in any serious repercussions, then you can be like me and simply refuse to compromise your beliefs. if that is not an option, you could make an alternate account. my sister has two accounts just for this reason, one for family, one for friends (and the more liberal members of the family). if neither options will work for you, then you can run away and live in the woods. you can shout all the curse words you can think of all day long, I doubt any of the wildlife will take offense.

[LRT]

I choose not to swear.

[ChrissyMaria]

Meh, I think censorship is as effective as trying to put a hole in the ocean with a handgun. I think people should be allowed to curse, not 'blatantly' every other fin word, but once in a little while its okay, but if its every other word, that's quite distasteful, but it should still not be censored. Maybe you should make a seperate facebook for friends only and no square family lol

[Caprisun]

I don't like censorship, but I also wouldn't want to offend anybody in my family. A family member asking another to please refrain from using bad language isn't censorship.

[ninja9578]

Words aren't vulgar, only contexts are vulgar.

[Replicon]

I wonder if putting your family in a facebook list would allow you to prevent them from seeing specific status updates. So like, "Yay I can't wait to go on vacation next week" you would filter through, but "Man, I got so fuckin drunk I picked up some school chicks and had an insane fucking orgy" might be something your family can do without.

[tommo]

I wonder if putting your family in a facebook list would allow you to prevent them from seeing specific status updates. So like, "Yay I can't wait to go on vacation next week" you would filter through, but "Man, I got so fuckin drunk I picked up some school chicks and had an insane fucking orgy" might be something your family can do without. LMFAO. No you can't but you can stop certain people from seeing all status updates. I agree though, swear words are no more offensive. IMO it just adds emphasis. I use them all the time. Probably why my vocabulary sucks, but whatever. Oh and a good solution is to not add family members. I don't want them to see my "Fuck I'm so high right now" etc. status'. But thankfully none of them have added me lol.

[Motumz]

LMFAO. No you can't but you can stop certain people from seeing all status updates. I agree though, swear words are no more offensive. IMO it just adds emphasis. I use them all the time. Probably why my vocabulary sucks, but whatever. Oh and a good solution is to not add family members. I don't want them to see my "Fuck I'm so high right now" etc. status'. But thankfully none of them have added me lol. It wouldn't say it impairs anyone's vocab. It only strengthens it in my opinion. In context though, like you said. Swear words can provide impact that other words just simply can't. But of course, swearing every other word can have the opposite effect. It just makes you / the sentence look much weaker, thus implying you have a shitty vocabulary.

[Indecent Exposure]

Hmmm I agree with all of that. I don't understand the aversion to certain words. "Swear words" are usually some of the most emotive and best at conveying high levels of any emotion. Compare "What the fuck are you talking about?" to "What are you talking about?" to convey high levels of confusion. Fuck or fucking is probably one of the words I use the most. I get shit like this all the time, some Blackjack dealer told me that she has never felt the need to use the F word in her life so I should show her respect and not use it in front of her. Haha, a tad bit ridiculous IMO, if there's house rules against it fair enough, but swearing in front of somebody has fuck all to do with respect as far as I'm concerned.

[ninja9578]

The problem with language censorship is **** ****** *** **** ***** ** **** * **** **** ********* * *** *** *. It's a very easy solution: **** ****** *** **** ***** ** **** * **** **** ********* * *** *** ****** ** **** * **** **** ********* * *** *** *.

[djonkoman]

I'm not a big fan of censorship, and swear a lot irl(mostly fokking, godverdomme and tering, that's dutch) altough for example I choose to not use the word kanker(cancer) like some I know use it, but I have no problems with others using it since I find it's their own choice and I also don't use godverdomme in the presence of my father or his side of the family(since they're christian) and I don't have the facebook problem, I have hyves(kind of a dutch version of facebook), and the only familymember who uses it too is my mother, and she barely uses it and isn't my friend on it

[tommo]

altough for example I choose to not use the word kanker(cancer) like some I know use it, but I have no problems with others using it since I find it's their own choice Uh........? How is cancer a swear word?

[djonkoman]

Uh........? How is cancer a swear word? here in the netherlands it is, especially under youth, there are people who use it in front of almost every word(for example: kanker gast, dat is kankergaaf, translation: cancer dude, that's cancercool) just like fuck is typically english(we do say fok and fokking, but that's derived from fuck, not a native dutch word, altough some people do translate english expressionss like what the fuck to wat de neuk, but that's clearly just literarly translated from the english)

[Maria92]

I use an alias for every single one of my online activities. Everyone I know in real life remains blissfully clueless. ^_^ It's still kind of sad that swearing is still considered offensive in this day and age, especially among adults. These are words to express anger, rage, frustration, or hell, just for fun. They may have been offensive at one time, but I think that time has passed. It's a freaking word!

[Alric]

I have to agree with Caprisun on that. Your aunt asking you not to use bad words, isn't really censorship, and I am pretty sure her goal wasn't to censor you at all. For starters a polite request, is just that, a polite request. She wasn't demanding anything or putting you down. You don't need to jump on people who are asking politely. Secondly she is your aunt, so you need to try and be a bit more respectful in general. No offense but your reply did seem a little rude, and probably a little unnecessary. Probably should of just said you were sorry, and that you were a little drunk and got carried away, then remind her its not a common thing for you. Or if you are totally opposed to that sort of thing, just politely tell her that you will try to watch your words, but that you weren't going to censor yourself so it could possible come up again.

[nerve]

I have to agree with Caprisun on that. Your aunt asking you not to use bad words, isn't really censorship, and I am pretty sure her goal wasn't to censor you at all. For starters a polite request, is just that, a polite request. She wasn't demanding anything or putting you down. You don't need to jump on people who are asking politely. Secondly she is your aunt, so you need to try and be a bit more respectful in general. No offense but your reply did seem a little rude, and probably a little unnecessary. Probably should of just said you were sorry, and that you were a little drunk and got carried away, then remind her its not a common thing for you. Or if you are totally opposed to that sort of thing, just politely tell her that you will try to watch your words, but that you weren't going to censor yourself so it could possible come up again. jump on? rude? are you joking? trust me if I was going to be rude, I would have been rude. I plainly, flatly explained how I felt. did I mention it's something I feel strongly about? I think I did. a lot of times when people feel strongly about things, they WILL be rude in the face of conflict. I was not. you are what I shall henceforth refer to as a "sugarcoat." let's look at your post. No offense but your reply did seem a little rude no offense? why should I be offended at someones honest thoughts? if my reply seemed rude to you, why not just say it? "I thought your reply was rude." nothing offensive about that, just an opinion. little rude, and probably a little unnecessary. a little unnecessary? why not just "unnecessary?" why all these "little"s? you don't have to sprinkle your posts with a bunch of "little"s. really. you either agree with me or you disagree, if you disagree, just say it. and you CAN say it flatly, without being rude. Probably should of just said you were sorry I was not sorry. why should I feel sorry, if, like I said in my reply to her, I feel that language censorship is ridiculous? I do not feel sorry, ever, for saying any of the words deemed "offensive," and so I have nothing to apologize for. you probably should just not throw the word "sorry" around as if you are a "sorry" person. I apologize for mistakes. not for people getting their panties in a knot over nothing. from your suggestions, I've formed an alternate reply to my aunt: I'm so sorry for offending you! you see, I was a little drunk, and well, normally I don't use language like that. sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, really. oh, but I think language censorship is silly, but, that's just my little opinion, I'm sorry if it offends you. so there *is* a chance that I *may* use some bad words in the future, oh, but not much! and I'll try to keep you in mind, and avoid using those words, even though, well, it goes completely against my belief. see how silly that is? why not just be flat-out honest? world could use more flat-out honesty. here's a cool quote I just stumbled on: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss

[Alric]

I wasn't trying to sugarcoat it and said it exactly how I meant it. When I said little, its because I meant little. I don't think you were outright rude. I think you got a little carried away in your response to your aunt, and that it was probably stronger than you may have intended for it to be. I totally agree with you that censorship is bad. My point was more, that you shouldn't risk friendships or family over drunken rants, and that you were creating potential conflict with your aunt when there wasn't any. I don't know her though, so maybe it didn't bother her at all. Maybe she is the kind of person who just lets that stuff roll off of her. Your reply did seems a little hostile however. And yes there are degrees of hostility.

[spockman]

jump on? rude? are you joking? trust me if I was going to be rude, I would have been rude. I plainly, flatly explained how I felt. did I mention it's something I feel strongly about? I think I did. a lot of times when people feel strongly about things, they WILL be rude in the face of conflict. I was not. you are what I shall henceforth refer to as a "sugarcoat." let's look at your post. No offense but your reply did seem a little rude no offense? why should I be offended at someones honest thoughts? if my reply seemed rude to you, why not just say it? "I thought your reply was rude." nothing offensive about that, just an opinion. little rude, and probably a little unnecessary. a little unnecessary? why not just "unnecessary?" why all these "little"s? you don't have to sprinkle your posts with a bunch of "little"s. really. you either agree with me or you disagree, if you disagree, just say it. and you CAN say it flatly, without being rude. Probably should of just said you were sorry I was not sorry. why should I feel sorry, if, like I said in my reply to her, I feel that language censorship is ridiculous? I do not feel sorry, ever, for saying any of the words deemed "offensive," and so I have nothing to apologize for. you probably should just not throw the word "sorry" around as if you are a "sorry" person. I apologize for mistakes. not for people getting their panties in a knot over nothing. from your suggestions, I've formed an alternate reply to my aunt: I'm so sorry for offending you! you see, I was a little drunk, and well, normally I don't use language like that. sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, really. oh, but I think language censorship is silly, but, that's just my little opinion, I'm sorry if it offends you. so there *is* a chance that I *may* use some bad words in the future, oh, but not much! and I'll try to keep you in mind, and avoid using those words, even though, well, it goes completely against my belief. see how silly that is? why not just be flat-out honest? world could use more flat-out honesty. here's a cool quote I just stumbled on: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss Just because someone prefers to be more mannerly then most when they speak doesn't mean they are speaking weakly or with less honesty.

[nerve]

I completely disagree. your idea of "mannerly" is clearly "sugar." why am I surprised at all the rotting teeth :(

[Taosaur]

If you use any word well enough, no one will complain.

[mindwanderer]

My family is like that too. I don't understand what the big deal is... like replacing 'F**kin' with 'friggin' or 'flippin' or replacing sh*t with shoot. You still knoqw what I mean, and they convey the exact same meaning, yet for whatever reason one is labeled as being bad. silly really. They already know what I mean when I say something so why change the word itself if it has the same meaning.

[djonkoman]

^yeah, just like my father who only says 'krammele' (frisian, but a word withpout meaning, only meaning is to replace a swearword) and when I once accidently said verdomme(damnit) because I slipped out on a wet part of the floor he became upset...(he is christian, I'm not, and I say godverdomme(goddamnit) all the time when he isn't around, when he is I restrict myself to kut(cunt), tering(phthisis) or tyfus(typhus)) and ofcourse the good ol' fok/fokking

[Spartiate]

^yeah, just like my father who only says 'krammele' (frisian, but a word withpout meaning, only meaning is to replace a swearword) and when I once accidently said verdomme(damnit) because I slipped out on a wet part of the floor he became upset...(he is christian, I'm not, and I say godverdomme(goddamnit) all the time when he isn't around, when he is I restrict myself to kut(cunt), tering(phthisis) or tyfus(typhus)) and ofcourse the good ol' fok/fokking What's with all these dutch swear words coming from diseases? Salmonella!