Use of Profanity Might Be Helpful
What would your Momma think?
We have all heard people using profanity. Many times, we glower at people when hearing them using profanity. We down our nose at the person using profanity, considering the person vulgar and crude. We gawp at them, turn our head the other way, or move. Occasionally, we see someone reprimand the person for the use of profanity. That person is a risk-taker. The profanity user can turn his or her outrage on that person.
What exactly is profanity?
Profanity is the use of offensive words that are socially unacceptable. Profanity can be crude, ill-mannered, and culturally derogatory. Profanity is called by different names such as
· Cursing or cussing
· swearing
· expletives.
Theoretically there are subtle differences between cursing and swearing but for most people it is the same thing. Expletives are slurs. Cursing is used to chastise or damn someone whereas swearing in blasphemy or impiety.
Uh oh!! That’s it, blasphemy. Bible ferrying people see profanity and cursing as blasphemy. Blasphemy is use of words that offend, disrespect, or show despitefulness for God. I was taught that you’re going straight to hell for blasphemy!
From this point on I am going to use cursing instead of profanity.
Cursing is socially taboo. Children are taught not to use “bad words.” If you used “bad words” as a child and your parents or an adult heard, several lesson could rain down on you.
1. You could get your butt tore up
2. Your mouth could be washed out with soap
3. You were sent to your room and not fed for a day
4. You were directed to write the word 1000 times.
5. Your daddy was told when he came home from work, and you got your butt tore up again.
Did you know that most people who curse learned the words as a child? By the time a child begins grade school, he or she may have an active vocabulary of 30–40 curse words.
When I worked at a behavioral health hospital there was a five-year-old child there who would curse if he got mad. The first time he cursed me I was flabbergasted. I had never been cursed like that. He cursed for about 30 minutes. His cursing was creative. He called me all kinds of Bs and Ws. Like older women would say, “he called me everything but a child of God.”
Cursing is most often used by teenagers and men. Men tend to use more aggressive profane words than women. I have notice that television show teenagers, especially White teenagers, use the “F” word a lot while Black men use the “B” word along with words that have the acronyms “SOB and MF.” In the state of Louisiana, people use the “F” and the “B” curse word most often. Women use softer profane words.
Occasionally if I get really mad or exasperated at an unhelpful person, I will use the “B” word by spelling it out in my head “That B-I-T-C-H.” Even if I tell someone of the incident, I will spell out the word. When a new friend heard my say this, she snapped her neck back and bucked her eyes. She said “Oh you can’t say it aloud. Well, it’ s still a sin.”
Why do people curse?
1. To punish someone
2. To relieve your stress.
3. To help them get through pain.
4. It is a way to express your emotions without physically harming someone.
5. To be “cool or hip.”
Did you know this? Cursing can be a sign of intelligence and creativity. Highly intelligent people may have a large vocabulary of profane words that they use in different settings and different context. Remember I spoke of the creative use of curse words the five-year-old used. This is also indicative of high intelligence.
Let me just say this, cursing is not socially acceptable. The positive aspects of cursing will not prevail the negative impact of cursing. That high intelligence is not going to stop your Momma from whipping your butt.
The more you curse the less impact the cursing has on others. Try not to do it.
If you want to save some money. Put a quarter or dollar in a glass jar with a lid on it every time you curse. You will either stop cursing or amass a fortune.
