How can you explain to people that saying profanity or bad words is just plain wrong?

Answer 1

It's language as a whole that seems to be suffering from a decline in standards. Everything today is 'awesome'. For me that word means that something fills me with a sense of true wonderment. If everything is awesome, then to me, it's a bit like saying every colour is red, or everything tastes of chocolate.

Profanity and swearing has replaced the process of finding proper words to describe something. So because everything is now awesome, the only way to describe it as being better than your run-of-the-mill awesome is to describe it as being 'f***ing awesome!'.

Swearing has become such a part of the descriptive language that now, instead of expressing beauty by saying something like, "Oh, we saw this gorgeous sunset. The ocean looked like liquid gold and the clouds were tinged with hues of scarlet and safron. The sky went from a deep lustrous blue to gold and then to ochre tinged with yellow.", we now get, "Woah, the f***ing sunset! It was f***ing awesome! You should have seen that s**t!"

Hardly an evocative description.

It doesn't help that TV now seems to pander to the most moronic in society. Not only do shows like Big Brother target the dumbest people in our society, but the contestants are also morons - the worst examples of losers and idiots our race has produced. Shows such as Jerry Springer also seem to seek out the dim-witted, angry and most hateful characters in our society and turn them into minor celebrities.

As for explaining to someone that profanity is bad, well, you're probably just wasting your breath. I tend to not get angry about other people swearing, but will often calmly say, "Why do you swear so often?". It usually shocks them and many people don't even realise they swear as much as they do. Sometimes they will ask if it bothers me. My usual reply is that there are so many other words to describe things - words better suited to evoke a feeling or an emotion - and it's a shame to not use them. I swear when I'm angry and frustrated, or sometimes for comic effect, but swearing as a matter of course and as part of my everyday lexicon is not something I'm in the habit of doing.

What matters is that if YOU can speak in language that is descriptive and reflects the things you see and feel without having to resort to buzz words and swearing, then you are leading by example.

Answer 2

Different people have different perspectives on what is bad. For example for some saying a profanity is a way of expressing an extreeme emotion such as when you hit your thumb accidentally with a hammer. For others such words is a way of being included in a social group. So to be able to get your opion across on this you also need to understand their perspective.

Answer 3

Wow. A lot of insightfull input. Everyone is right in their own way, because the category of "profanity" or "bad words" is different for everyone based on culture, environment and belief system.

I scold our children and tell them it's "Oh my Gosh", not "oh my god", yet they get away with saying "stupid" occasionally and I might not say anything......

I don't condone profanity, but it's the WORST thing I do when I'm angry and need to vent that energy out; I curse, instead of using drugs, abusing someone, throwing objects, gambling.....whatever. Yes, my children hear me sometimes and they scold me! and I thank them. But is it wrong then?

Maybe, with your family you can set a precedence. In mine, I try to limit it to private, within family's ears, use and not public - but it does slip out from time to time. And, yes I have hopes that my kids won't use it, but I doubt that will happen - maybe then , they will learn where and when it's appropriate.

Answer 4

Profanity is commonly used by uneducated people. I rarely use profanity. It would depend on the environment I am in and if I had been drinking. But for the most part I find it a sign of weakness to use in everyday vocabulary or banter.

Answer 5

You probably can't. Most folks save the "just plain wrong" category for the more egregious of human activities, like murder, rape, theft, torture, arson, fraud, and do on -- you know, stuff that does direct harm to other people's bodies or property. The best you can do is to convince them that it's coarse or vulgar, and those who use such language are viewed as ignorant and lacking self-discipline.

You might point out that if they use strong language in ordinary situations, that there will be no room to escalate in extraordinary circumstances. When my Mother progresses from "hecking and darning" to "helling and damning" then we know that she is seriously upset and we had all better pay attention to some serious greivance. If she "helled and damned" every time she opened her mouth, no one would pay attention.

Answer 6

Well, you really can't.

You can tell them that it makes YOU uncomfortable, though, and a lot of times, that's enough to make people watch their language around you.

But you can't tell a grownup saying curse words is just plain wrong. They can talk however they want to, even if it's ugly or crude or profane. It won't make them stop, and it will probably make them want to do it around you more.

Answer 7

You can't.
Bad words, is simply your perception of what is bad and what is not.

If that person does not perceive the word to be bad, then they will not consider it a bad word, even if society has labeled it as such.

Words are a depiction or description of an idea that we are trying to communicate to each other.
Generally speaking a word, becomes a bad word, when the idea that is communicated by the word is negative or offensive to a large number of people.
Examples:
The bad word used to communicate a sexual act, that starts with an "F" became a bad word, because a large number of people found it offensive to talk about sexual acts.
The bad word used to communicate human bodily waste that starts with an "S" became a bad word, because a large number of people found it negative to think of human bodily waste.
If all people stopped using these bad words, then we as a society would both find new words to replace them, and designate the new words as bad.

Answer 8

Hmmm. It is colorful language and quite descriptive if used judiciously.

However, it is attention-seeking, so from an etiquette standpoint, it's wrong.

For example, when I was in high school wearing a parochial uniform, my friends and I used to practice profanity and look for people who could curse fluently so that we could practice. It was an adolescent stage that lasted about 18 months, but we certainly sounded like fishwives, even if we looked like little angels!

Answer 9

If you behave in a way that lets people know that you are a "lady" or "gentleman", most people will not need the explanation. They will just know, and they will act accordingly if they are able. Those who don't, well, you just can't explain it to them. They won't get it and there's nothing you can do about it. Choose your friends from the first group and you'll have a better time.

Answer 10

Others may not share the same opinion that you do when it comes to profanity, and no one likes to be preached to about what you think is right or wrong. Be happy with your morals, but keep them to yourself and your family.