Hot Topic (11/2): Does profanity make people sound 'ignorant' and 'immature'?

[Cafe GroupAdmin]

Stop the F'ing Swearing (this is from Momlogic.com)

The Meanest Mom: Earlier this week, I caught my three preschoolers trading insults across the breakfast table.

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"Stinky butt!"
"Poop head!"
"Toilet face!"

Far from sounding cute or funny, these words struck me as offensive and disgusting. And then it hit me: when I use the grown-up term for "poop," I sound exactly the same way.

Most of us don't tolerate "potty talk" from our kids, yet in our adult conversations, we don't hesitate to use words and phrases that are much worse. Why? Part of the reason stems, I think, from the mistaken notion that using "bad words" makes us sound more authoritative, powerful, and cool. This belief is perpetuated by the fact that when someone curses, the room falls still and all heads turn.

Dropping the F-bomb draws attention to us all right, but never in a good way. Profanity is, at its least, unbecoming, and at its worst, portrays the speaker as both ignorant (of synonyms and social mores among other things) and immature. While this ugly little truth may not make us happy, it's a case that I've found hard to refute when I'm using the same language, essentially, as a 4-year-old.

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How do you feel about profanity?

Do you use it?  Why or why not?

Do you think profanity makes the speaker sound "both ignorant" and "immature", as the writer declares in the article?  

[NearSeattleMom]

I don't use profanity.

I can't help it.  I do tend to think that people who use a lot of profanity have limited vocabularies. 

[Mergath]

I think it depends on the situation, the company, and the conversation.  Sometimes profanity makes one sound ignorant, other times it can be effective punctuation for a point.  When some comedians drop an F-bomb, for example, it's hilarious.  Jon Stewart probably gets the most laughs when his outraged swearing gets bleeped out, and I don't think he is either ignorant or immature.    

[Merry74]

Yes, generally speaking I think it makes the speaker sound ignorant or immature.  Unfortunately, that doesn't stop me from occasionally sounding ignorant and immature. 

Quoting Mergath:

I think it depends on the situation, the company, and the conversation.  Sometimes profanity makes one sound ignorant, other times it can be effective punctuation for a point.  When some comedians drop an F-bomb, for example, it's hilarious.  Jon Stewart probably gets the most laughs when his outraged swearing gets bleeped out, and I don't think he is either ignorant or immature.    

[SAMNMAYASMOM]

1. NO, I don't feel more authoritative or anything when I swear. My children do not swear because I don't allow them to. Not appropriate for kids.

2. Yes, I swear. Because I do.

3. No I don't look down on anyone who cusses. Unless of course every other word is a cuss word, or they're complaining over something, and acting like a child.

[corsetedwife]

It does make people sound ignorant and immature.  If I am in a discussion with someone and they begin to swear then I feel they are being disrespectful.  I deserve better than that.  And thinking that I do deserve better I think that others do as well so I did make a strong effort to stop swearing.  It was important to me and I am proud I did it.   

 

[mamalinzie]

Ive always thought that people who curse a lot do so because they lack a decent vocabulary.  Sometimes it is appropriate. But most of the time, it really doess make people look ignorant.

[jaxTheMom]

It really does depend on the situation and circumstances.  Overall, I think excessive swearing does sound a bit ignorant - if you can't put together a cohesive sentence without it. Sometimes, however, it does add a punch.

For example, yesterday I tried to do a certain move on my bowflex.  I related the story to my SO afterwards - when I upped the weights, the entire machine flew up behind me and smacked me in the ass!  He fell out laughing.  When I told my daughter about it, however, I said it flew back and hit me in the rear.  Not as funny, but more appropriate.

Another:  A company I worked in last year, we ALL swore like sailors.  There were 9 of us (programmers) working in the same room, and we swore so much, and so loudly, that visitors were not allowed in the room and we had to be warned when investors were coming by.  These were incredibly well educated and intelligent people (a few had already made their fortune while still teenagers) but it was part of our culture together.  My current company, it's really not done so I had to learn to curb it.

Honestly, what sounds immature is the inability to note when profanity is appropriate.  What sounds ignorant is consistent use of bad grammar and misspellings.

[mmtosam06]

Ditto

Quoting mamalinzie:

Ive always thought that people who curse a lot do so because they lack a decent vocabulary.  Sometimes it is appropriate. But most of the time, it really doess make people look ignorant.

[storkradio193]

I use it but the problem is then I forget to be careful when I need to, so I need to stop. I do think it makes one sound less articulate.

[acrogodess]

I do curse. I am not ashamed to admit that I do.

My kids do not curse because I do not tell them in a hypocritical manner that they cannot EVER curse at all, but because I tell them, curse words are grown up words and they may use them when they are much older. I also tell them not to curse at me when they are older because they shouldn't be disrespectful and I also tell them not to curse when they are older in front of people they know feel uncomfortable with cursing, like their godmother or grandmothers or their teachers or a priest or a rabbi or any religious figure. I even give them the example that even though I am a grown up that can use grown up words that I do not curse in front of my grandmothers or in front of their godmother as a sign of the respect I have for their feelings.

That being said, I don't mind cursing because I am very verbose. I have a very large vocabulary and I can speak and write using proper grammar and correct spelling. I also have my BA in psychology and plan on getting my Master's some day. I make a point to tell my kids that education is important and they both already have much larger vocabularies than their classmates.