Yathavan Premadasan
English Homework – My view of profanity
Swearing colloquially known as cussing can be considered as something foul and disrespectful to others. But, is it really? Think back to the last time you swore, you’ve probably used the F word several times without intention. Does that make you a foul and disrespectful human? Certainly not!
Many people perceive swearing as the result of poor upbringing by parents who, for whatever reason, are too busy, too unconcerned or too generous to discourage their kids from such antisocial behaviour. But already we can see a series of clear judgements underlying these responses. I’d like to suggest that it’s precisely this, ‘judgement’, rather than simply moral outrage, which is at the heart of our attitudes about swearing.
