There’re better words to use in any situation.

To make the point more clear. As much as people tend to use it in the way they do for words such as ‘like’.

I mean people will just say f you, instead of thinking of a witty insult or express an emotion with more expression.

For example, say you want to express that a person is fat, which one is a more cutting way to tell someone they’re fat:

  1. “You’re a fat-f**k.”

  2. “Don’t bother trying to stand up. I know you haven’t done that in years.”

One more thing, As much as there is a time and place you don’t curse, it’s not a matter of “appropriateness” to me; what matters more is the impact of what’s said. I hope my example showcases that.

One last thing, - cause I just starting to realise this matter more to people than I thought it would (nothing wrong with that of course) - cursing doesn’t necessarily subtract from a remark as if it’s a negative number in a math problem, it’s just redundant for speaking (more often than not).

Southsamurai©sh.itjust.works gives a good example of cursing is bland as apposed to just using your brain.

Someone saying “I’m tired of this fucking rain” is more boring than someone saying “I really wish thor would give us a warning before bukkakeing the world”.

I just realise this will work as a post in a unpopular opinion space if that exist, lol.

  • Mr_No_SwearingOPEnglish
    12·
    2 months ago

    Yea I get what you mean, Thanks.

    Inregards to the flawed example, how is it flawed?

    I’m getting cooked over here, anything will help.

    • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
      4·
      2 months ago

      Well, it was one, I just didn’t catch the typo of examples instead of example.

      But, you’re using an insult. Your example is already something nasty to say, no matter how you say it because you’re attacking someone. Using curse words is no more or less effective at pissing the person off enough to shoot you (as an extreme but possible outcome).

      For an example to work to support your opinion, it has to be undirected because directed statements are never neutral to begin with.

      A better example would be something like pointing out a painting you don’t like.

      You could say, “that looks like something a five year old vomited up after drinking finger paints”

      Or, “that thing is so fucking ugly it makes me want to vomit”.

      As long as the person you’re saying it to isn’t the artist, owner, or a dedicated fan of the artist, you have a relatively controlled example where the main difference is the presence of cursing.

      See the difference in the examples? If I call you a giant moron, it doesn’t matter much if I say fucking moron instead. It’s the insult that’s doing the work, not the adjective.

      Now, this applies at any level of creativity. “You’re about as pleasant as the south end of a north bound mule” is relatively creative, as is “you’re a bigger asshole than the north end of a south bound elephant” very similar insults, with the significant difference being the cursing.

      In that specific example, it could even be argued that the use of profanity increases the effect, and it would, depending on the target. Cursing is an amplifier in a huge swath of the population. “You’re a jerk” isn’t as effective as “you’re a fucking jerk”, because that extra step outside of social mores deepens the aggressiveness of the insult.

      It’s definitely subjective. There are people that would be more insulted by a well crafted, profanity free barb. But, on the whole, insults are about aggression and challenge. It’s a form of dominance display to an extent. So using insults as an example for the effects of cursing is flawed by nature.

      Now, a better example yet would be the weather. Someone saying “I’m tired of this fucking rain” is more boring than someone saying “I really wish thor would give us a warning before bukkakeing the world”. Is bukkakeing an actual word? Doesn’t matter, but it struck my mind lol. You can replace the jizz reference with “spitting on”, if you feel sexual matters serve the same role as cursing.

      Once you remove the insult factor, it becomes more about the cursing itself, which makes a better example and point of discussion.

      • Mr_No_SwearingOPEnglish
        23·
        2 months ago

        I appreciate the examples and the info.

        If you don’t mind I want to borrow your rain example for the post, with credit of course ;).

        As for the insult sting ability, I understand that if your going to make a sentence long insult then cursing dosen’t seem to weaken it’s effect, others brought up that it doesn’t hurt the insult if swears are used.

        I also understand that being offended can be subjective.

        I just find that if your going to try to be cunning with words, why give somone the ability to say “You mad bro?”

        It’s harder & more biting to think of the words where they’ve to think about whats said than having it morph into a shouting match or something along those lines.

        For the second point. Maybe I’m just terminally online, but it seems as if everyone curses & only knows how to curse. When I see a true insult it’s as if a breath of fresh-air & it usally stops the other guy in their tracks for a bit. It also has the funny factor for me, but I’m willing to accept that it’s my own view on humor.

        Outside of christian mom’s or people saying not to curse here for: advertisers to feel safe or because it’s inappropriate to say it in front of children, my experience is the lemmys down-voting me & saying I’m wrong seem to be the norm for people.

        Again, I understand where you arrive from, policing speach isn’t cool & people end up doing it for a reason, usually for offensive speech that hurts people. I just find curse words to mean anything & everything, & I just don’t find it that hurtful. For example, I live with Jehovah’s witnesses that curse. I had my mom curse at me when I was little. It just seems to be “I’m angry” written edgyly if it has emotion at all.

        Hope you understand what I mean, if not, let me know.