Swearing, Cursing, Colorful Metaphors, and Skateboarding

What is it about kids and swearing these days? I was going to say “skaters and swearing” but I don’t think it’s just skaters. It’s little kids, big kids, adults, yo mama, bad actors with bad habits, drug dealers, the clergy, the layman, Captain Kirk, Brazilians, rappers, construction workers, felons, the executives at Enron, and a few other people too.

So where did swear words come from anyway and why does anyone think they’re bad? It’s just a word, right? Well, I don’t really know the history of swearing, but I’m sure there are a few websites out there cataloguing the evolution of certain words.

Why do people think they’re bad? Well, some of them aren’t just meaningless words but refer to actions that to some people are lewd and to others sacred, and either way offensive to be used in a public forum. Then there’s taking the Lord’s name in vain, which for some people is the worst kind of swearing, much worse than an f-bomb, but ironically for others is the most tame kind of swearing (generally considered tame by those who use it the most frequently).

But what’s the difference between saying “poo” and using a more coloful term? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know what makes the one word childish and the other offensive, unless it’s just an unconcsious or traditional societal collective agreement. As a society we agree that a certain word is a “bad word” and so it is. But does the word actually possess any negative characteristics in and of itself if it bears no other meaning than “piece of poo”? It seems hard to fathom. Not to say that it doesn’t, but if it does I don’t see it myself.

So why don’t I swear? I’ve got a few reasons.

1. Respect. You don’t like it when someone does something to you that you don’t like, right? Even if they don’t mind doing it to you? Of course not, you can’t even argue the point based on the way I phrased the question.

Well, some people, maybe most people, don’t like hearing swear words. Whether you think it’s stupid or not, the point is they don’t like it. And when you don’t do something simply because you know someone else wouldn’t like it, that’s called respect. And it’s not like you’re avoiding something you should be doing, so don’t get all ridiculous on me.

Weird word, “respect”. Do you respect someone because you already spected them and now you’re going to spect them again?

2. Self-control. Like Greco says, you’ve got to be in command. Personally, I like being in control. I see swearing as being a behavior of those who aren’t in control of themselves. People who lose their tempers tend to swear, it seems. But I like being in control, in command. You can get more done that way.

3. Everyone else does it. It seems like everyone swears, even in Utah, maybe even more so because they’re all rebelling against Mormonism. I swear (pun intended), people swear more here than they did where I grew up near Los Angeles.

Just the fact that everyone else swears is enough for me to not swear, just to be different and not go along with the crowd. It’s funny to me that people think they’re rebels if they swear a lot. In reality, they’re just like all the other people who swear. I feel more like an individual by not swearing because it takes some effort and self-control. Swearing all the time would be easy, because I’d just be following the herd.

4. I just feel better. Finally, there’s something deep down I can’t explain, but when I resist swearing I just feel better. Try not swearing for a week, I bet you’ll feel better too. It can’t hurt, right?

The last time I said a swear word was when I was 16 years old. Well, with the exception of some Brazilian swear words when I was a missionary there, but I really didn’t know they were swear words, I swear! Plus it doesn’t count if it’s in another language, right?

Oh, and one last reason not to swear…because it’s not going to help you get a Skate Plaza built in your town.